O'Neill's Daughter
by Claret Tho
Summary: What if Jack O'neill had a daughter? Full summary inside which gives a detailed timeline of how Jack O'Nell's daughter can fit into Stargate. The OC and John Sheppard relationship will be a slow development though there will be sexual tension and flirting galore!
1. Summary

Dr Marlene O'Neill

Born- 12th June 1978

Age- 26

Nationality- American

Appearance- Average height, dyed dark cherry red hair, dark almost black brown eyes, lean build.

Occupation- Physics and Theoretical Astrophysicist. Linguist. Knows Spanish, French, Greek, Italian and Latin. Can decipher Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Mayan Symbols. She is also a good engineer.

Stargate-Limited Goa'uld and Asgard symbols, limited spoken Asgard. Fluent in Jaffa spoken language and symbols from spending time with Teal'c. Ancient Symbols and spoken Language. Has limited Wraith symbol knowledge.

Born in 1978 from a one night stand between her mother and Jack O'Neill, her mother abandoned the baby with Jack and cut all contact. Jack names her Marlene O'Neill. He never attempted to find her mother again.

She was raised with her father and a childminder when Jack was away on missions. She was seven when Jack met Sarah in 1985 and Sarah took over from the childminder when she and Jack married in 1987 when Jack went away.

She was ten when her father Jack O'Neill was taken prisoner in Iraq in 1988, the same year her younger half-brother Charlie was born.

She was eighteen when she personally witnessed Charlie accidentally shoot himself when he was eight in 1996. She grieves for Charlie and secretly battles with depression.

Between 1996-1997 she takes a job and starts studying Physics. She is nineteen when Jack comes out of retirement and joins SGC.

In 1998 she stops medication for depression and also enters a relationship. (age twenty)

She meets Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c under the disguise as 'Joe' and is helped through her studies by Sam. She also is tutored in languages by Daniel and becomes fluent in Spanish, French, Greek, Italian and Latin by the time she qualifies from Physics and Astrophysics in 2001 three years after beginning initial study, because she was tutored by Sam she finishes the study period two years ahead.

It is around this time SGC takes an interest in Marlene and she is given security clearance. She is twenty three.

She is hired temporarily at the beginning of 2002, shortly after being given security clearence as a linguist for Daniel and he begins to tutor her in Goa'uld and Asgard Symbols and deciphering Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Mayan Symbols. Teal'c also tutors her in spoken and written Jaffa.

She falls pregnant at the end of 2002 at the age of twenty four but suffers a miscarriage. Her relationship suffers greatly and begins to break down slowly over the course of another year. Around the time Daniel gets sick and Ascends.

She is devastated when Daniel ascends and develops a deep depression from nightmares over Charlie. This is when Marlene and Jack properly bond and become very close. She is twenty five when Daniel Jackson is discovered on Vis Uban. She assists in helping him get his memories back.

In 2003 shortly before her 26th birthday, she comes off antidepressants.

She is eventually transferred onto the Atlantis expedition headed by Weir at the beginning of 2004 at the age of twenty six.

Reposted with Hilda Khalife as Marlene's avatar. A link to a picture is on my Profile.


	2. Chapter 1 Introducing Marlene

I sat at the computer monitor waiting for Dr McKay to come back from trying to find someone else to sit in the control chair.

'I've already told you I'm not your man' the familiar Scottish lilt of Doctor Beckett travelled towards me

'Keep moving' McKay's bossy voice replied

'I'm a doctor! A medical doctor' Beckett retorted

'There's nothing to be afraid of'

'You don't understand, I break things like this!' Beckett exclaimed as they entered the room.

McKay reached over me to key in the setting to begin the monitoring process.

'The reluctant gene holder' I smiled

'Damn right' Beckett replied, flustered

'This thing has survived for thousands of years, it will survive you. Now sit down, close your eyes and concentrate!' McKay ordered

'Millions actually Dr McKay' I pointed out

'What she said' McKay indicated to me

I sniggered quietly as Beckett groaned childishly; his attention seemed to settle on me again.

'Why isn't she doing it? Isn't she the strongest gene holder here?' He asked

'Someone has to monitor power levels and I have no intention of becoming an ATA gene guinea pig either!' I retorted 'And she has a name!'

'She's put in a refusal for this task' McKay replied, shooting an annoyed glare at me.

Beckett groaned again and settled gingerly into the chair before he slapped his hands onto the armrests, leaned back properly and closed his eyes. He left it a second before trying to get up again.

'Again, nothing!' Beckett started

'Wait, this time try to imagine an image of where we are in the solar system' McKay asked

Beckett closed his eyes, breathed out and frowned. McKay watched his hand held scanner. I watched the monitor.

'I think I feel something' Beckett stated

McKay looked at me and I shook my head. The monitor was giving out no reading. He looked back down at his scanner with a frown.

'It could be lunch related' Beckett finished

I snorted and dived behind my computer screen to laugh in peace.

'Shut up! And concentrate' McKay retorted, I could tell from his tone his patience was wearing thin.

Beckett sighed and closed his eyes again. I composed myself and watched the monitor. The chair activated and reclined, taking Beckett by surprise. Nearby a drone that a scientist was working on lit up. It bounced around the room before shooting up the lift shaft. I stood up as McKay rushed over to the computer.

'What did I do?' Beckett asked

'It seems you've activated a drone' I replied

'What's that?' He asked

'A weapon device' McKay groaned

I rushed to the nearest radio controller.

'Send out a warning, we need to get any incoming and outgoing aircraft back on the ground' I said

I remembered my father was supposed to be flying in soon and my stomach flipped nervously. Dr Weir and a few staff members came out of the lift, she looked at me and I pointed into the chair room. She nodded before running over. I followed her so I could see if the drone actually hit anything.

'I told you I was the wrong person' Beckett said, his voice sounded as worried as I felt.

'It doesn't matter now, just do something!' McKay shouted

'Like what?' he shot back

'Carson, concentrate on shutting that drone down before someone gets hurt' Weir said gently

As Beckett shut his eyes I looked at the screen and felt. Everyone watched Beckett worriedly and I noticed Daniel Jackson stood nearby and went over to him. He put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

The screen showed the drone deactivate and I sighed in relief. Daniel clapped his hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. Beckett gasped his eyes wide.

'I think I did it' He said

Weir sighed as scientist converged on the computer where McKay was. He still had an angry look about him.

Aiden Ford ran over, his hand on his radio 'Major Sheppard reports the drone appears to be incapacitated' he reported

I frowned; I hadn't heard that name before. Weir nodded before smiling happily at Beckett who beamed in relief.

'General O'Neill's helicopter is unharmed' Ford continued

McKay only relaxed then and he folded his arms and looked at Beckett in annoyance.

'It's on its way again, seven minutes now' Ford finished

'Thank god' Weir said

'Holy crap' Beckett said, it seemed to sink in what had just happened.

'Congratulations Doctor, you nearly shot my father down' I quipped

'Come on then Marley, let go and greet him' Daniel said

I looked at Dr Weir, who nodded with a small smile. I stood up and followed Daniel. We got to the lift shaft as my father got to the bottom.

'Jack' Daniel greeted

'Daniel' He glared comically at Daniel 'Warm welcome' He commented before noticing me

'Ah, Marley!' He said

'Sir' I saluted

My Dad grinned before giving me a massive bear-hug. He let me go and I noticed the man behind him. He was tall, almost as tall as my father. He had messy dark brown hair and he was looking around the cavern curiously.

'Wasn't me, how did you ah-'

'Keep my ass from getting blown out of the sky?'

He turned and indicated to the man with him

'The exceptional flying skills of Major John Sheppard' He said

So this was Major Sheppard. He nodded in greeting to Daniel and then his eyes fell on me. There was the briefest moment of eye contact, he looked at me with interest and I looked away to Dad.

'He likes it here!' Dad exclaimed

'Exceptional, you like it here?' Daniel asked

John shrugged with a cheeky grin. Dad grabbed Daniel's shoulder.

'Let's cut to the part where you start talking real fast but before that, Sheppard, I'll leave you in the capable hands of my daughter here, Dr Marlene O'Neill' He said

Major Sheppard looked at me with a smile. Dad looked at him sternly.

'Don't touch anything' He said

'Yes sir' Sheppard replied

Dad turned his attention to me 'Don't let him touch anything'

I saluted to him with a smile before he followed Daniel away. I looked up at Sheppard who looked down at me.

'Daughter huh?' He asked

'Yeah' I replied with a smile 'Come on, may as well show you around'

He nodded before following me. I was just telling him about the drone and how they work before we came to the chair room. We overheard the end of Beckett boasting about how he managed to shut the drone down.

'So you were the one' Sheppard said loudly

Beckett looked up as well as the scientists he had been speaking to.

'Me?' Beckett asked, as the scientists took their leave.

Sheppard stepped forwards and Beckett got behind the Control Chair.

'You're the one who shot that thing at me' Sheppard said, his eyes flashing dangerously.

I stood beside Beckett nervously as he swallowed

'Look, we're doing research' I said 'Working with technology, that for the moment, is light-years beyond us'

'And we make mistakes' Beckett finished 'I'm truly very sorry'

'And it should be considered that Dr Beckett is a medical doctor, not a scientist. He was right when he said he shouldn't have been asked to sit in the chair' I finished

Beckett nodded gratefully at me and Sheppard seemed to look forgiving.

'Well next time be a little more careful' He said, he was looking at the chair curiously.

'That's what I said' Beckett said

'Anyway you were telling me what that thing was' Sheppard returned his attention to me

'The drone?' Beckett asked, he looked at me for explanation too. He didn't really know what is was either.

'Yeah, the weapon the Ancients built to defend this outpost' I concluded

'The who?' Sheppard asked

I frowned and wondered how much Major Sheppard actually knew about the Stargate programme. It seemed Beckett thought the same.

'You do have security clearance don't you?' Beckett asked

'Yeah, General O'Neill just gave it to me' Sheppard replied

'Then you don't know about the Stargate then?' I asked

'The what?' He asked

Beckett and I exchanged glances

'Oh boy' I sighed

Beckett went into explaining everything, I occasionally chipped in with a few comments but generally I went back to the computer monitor to analyse the data from Beckett's foray into experimenting with Ancient Technology.

It was only when Beckett got into explaining the ATA Gene that I looked up and paid attention. I laughed quietly as Sheppard prodded the jelly armrest with a look of disgusted kind of amazement on his face. Beckett turned away.

'-so only their kind could use their technologies' Beckett finished

'So some people have the same genes as these Ancients?' John asked

'The specific gene is very rare, but on the whole they looked like we do' Beckett replied

'Actually, they were first. We are the second evolution of this form' I said before turning back to the computer 'The Ancients having explored this galaxy for millions of years-'

'Major please don't' Beckett exclaimed suddenly

I turned to see Sheppard preparing to sit in the chair.

'Oh c'mon what're the odds of me having the same genes as these guys?' John shrugged.

He sat down and the chair lit up. Not just the chair, the whole platform, which was more than the reaction I'd got and even when Beckett managed to activate the drone too. He stood with his mouth open as Sheppard looked around him nervously.

'Quite slim actually' Beckett said in shock 'Don't move'

With that he turned away and he went to fetch Dr Weir. Sheppard looked at me sheepishly.

'We're in trouble now' I replied sternly 'My Dad told you not to touch and told me not to let you!'

'I just sat down' He replied worriedly

Beckett presently came back with Weir, my Dad, Daniel and McKay. She looked at him confused and I stood up as my Dad gave me a stern glare before turning to Sheppard.

'Who is this?' Weir asked

'Major John Sheppard' I replied

'I said don't touch anything' Dad said

'I-I just sat down' John said, with a worried nod.

McKay stepped forwards with an intent look on his face 'Major, think about where we are in the solar system'

Sheppard seemed to get a look of concentration on his face and a swirling blue image of the solar system appeared above us. I looked at McKay excitedly and he grinned. Weir smiled. John looked up at it puzzled.

'Did I do that?' He asked

I sat back and watched the monitor. The graph spiked with the energy in a comfortable manner and McKay came over and watched it with me.

'Extraordinary' He remarked

'And to think, he only got clearance today' I replied

John abruptly got off the chair, which powered down. The image disappeared, he looked around him at the faces and I got up.

'C'mon, you need a sit down' I said

He nodded as I led him into a different room. I sat him at a table and poured us both a cup of tea. I placed it in front of him and he sniffed it curiously.

'It's tea' I said 'It's better than coffee to warm up with'

'What was that?' Sheppard asked

'It seems you have the ATA Gene that Doctor Beckett was telling you about' I said

'You're absolutely sure' Sheppard said

'Only a gene carrier could've made the chair work' I said

'Do you have it?' Sheppard asked

'Yes, I do. My father has it too and up until just now, was the strongest carrier' I said

'What do you mean?'

I looked at the Major carefully 'Only you and my father have managed to make the chair power up simply by just sitting in it. It sometimes powers up for me too but not as spectacularly as that'

'What does that mean?' Sheppard asked

'It means that Dr Weir will shortly be asking you to join her expedition, I seriously recommend you think about it too' I replied

'What is this?' John asked

'Dr Weir is currently leading an expedition to try and find the lost city of Atlantis' I replied

Sheppard looked at me incredulously 'You're kidding right?'

'No I'm not Major. We are on the cusp of discovering where it is too, exactly where it is. We believe, at the moment, that it is in a separate galaxy to the Milky Way' I replied

'This is insane' Sheppard exclaimed

'Not really' I replied

Dr Weir came into the room and I got up to leave. Today was my last day on the outpost, I was returning to America for awhile before coming back again. I wanted to get my things together properly.

I met Dad in the control room later on and Dr Weir was currently talking to him. He motioned for me to come over and I tuned into what she was saying.

'Sorry doc, I need Daniel here' Dad replied

'Oh. I'm talking about Major Sheppard' She said

Dad turned to look at her and I smiled. I knew she'd want him.

'Oh' Dad said 'Don't you have a dozen or so people already who can use the Ancient technology?'

'Yeah, with concentration and training they can make it work. But John Sheppard, he does it naturally' Weir smiled

'You know you should check into his record' Dad frowned

'I know about the whole supposed black mark in Afghanistan, but he was trying to save the lives of three service men-'

'Disobeying a direct order in the process' Dad replied

I snorted but knew better than to make a comment. Weir frowned in amusement.

'General, I've read your own file. Please' She grinned cheekily

I grinned at her from over his shoulder. Dad looked down, an amused twinkle in his eye.

'Right. Okay, it's your expedition. You want him, you ask him' He said, getting into the lift next to me.

'That's the thing, I have' Weir said

Dad raised his eyebrows and I looked down to hide the smug grin on my face.

'Really?'

'Yes, he refused' Weir said

'And I suppose you want me to try and convince him?' Dad asked

'Please, if you wouldn't mind?' Weir asked

Dad sighed 'Fine, I'll give it a shot'

'Thanks General' Weir smiled

Dad shut the door with a nod to her and the lift started to ascend up the shaft. Dad nudged me playfully and I looked up at him.

'So, a whole three weeks with the old man eh?' He asked

'Yeah, I don't know what came over me' I joked

'Oh come off it kiddo' Dad laughed

'What are you going to say to Major Sheppard?' I asked

'Don't you worry about that Marley. I've got to talk to you about this whole expedition thing when we get home anyway' He said

'Why?' I asked

'Just wait until we get home' He said

XxXxX

_Hope people don't mind me giving O'Neill a daughter. Review please and tell me what you think. _


	3. Chapter 2 Decisions

I sat back in my chair. Dad had just finished telling me the recent turn of events of the expedition. I looked at him as he carried on eating.

'One way?' I asked

'Yes, you don't have to go' Dad said

'Dad' I simply said

He stopped eating and looked at me carefully. He reached over and held my hand gently.

'You're my little girl but you're also a grown woman, you need to make up your own mind about this' He said

'But what about you?' I asked

'I'll be fine' Dad shrugged

'This isn't like going to Antarctica. This is a whole other galaxy, with risks and potentially never seeing you again' I said 'We've spent years apart because of your work; I don't want to spend years away from you because of my work'

'If you could do it for me, I can do it for you' He replied

I sat back in silence. It wasn't like Dad could pop to my office for a cup of coffee whenever he wanted. Not like it had been when I started working with Daniel.

'You need to think about it, and think carefully Marley. You're right, this is a big decision' Dad said

He let go of my hand and started eating again. I looked at my plate and reluctantly forced my food down. I'd cooked bolognaise; it was my favourite meal and my speciality. How would he cope? I'd cooked for years for him.

'Can you cook?' I asked

Dad threw me a dirty look 'Don't decide you can't go because you think I'll starve to death'

'At least Sam can cook' I muttered

'What was that?' Dad asked loudly

'Nothing Dad' I smiled innocently

After dinner, feeling sick I wandered to my room and slept fitfully.

The next day I headed off to the SGC and sat watching Daniel working on his laptop.

'Do you think I should go?' I asked eventually

Daniel looked at me carefully before closing his laptop lid 'What do you want to do and I mean _really_ want?' he asked

I fiddled with a curl of my hair 'I dunno, I want to keep with the expedition. But I don't want to abandon Dad'

'I can understand that thinking. But it's not like he's alone you know. He has us' Daniel said

'I'm his daughter, I'm his only family' I reminded Daniel

'Yeah, but this is a huge opportunity for you' Daniel said 'Besides, we have an Ancient battleship in the pipeline, who knows, we might get it working'

'I can't rely on a busted up old battleship to see my Dad again' I replied

'You know, he wants you to make up your own mind. He said he'd cope without you and you'd cope without him' Daniel said

'Daniel, I never even moved out of his house! How are we both going to cope in a whole separate galaxy?'I asked incredulously

'Well you have five weeks to decide. That's when they leave. Dr Weir said you can go and discuss it with her anytime too' Daniel said

Over the next two days I distractedly got on with assignments as if I was going to go. Dad made a huge effort with spending time with me which was what made things worse. About three weeks before the expedition I went to see Dr Weir.

'Dr O'Neill' She greeted

'Hi, I just wanted to talk about the expedition' I said

'I knew I'd be seeing you about it' Weir said

'Yeah, it's about the whole one-way thing' I said

'I know, quite a few have dropped out in favour of staying on the Atlantus Base' Weir frowned

'Have you lost gene holders?' I asked

'A few, but we'll manage' Weir said

I looked down, fiddling with the curl again. I looked up to Weir watching me with a mixture of concern and sympathy.

'I don't want to abandon my Dad' I said quietly

'I understand; it's a very difficult decision. I'm leaving people behind' Weir said

She told me what had been worked out so far. Everyone was allowed a few personal effects and as much food and water would be taken as was possible. As were medical supplies and other things. There would be military presence too and weapons for self-defence.

My head spun. I packed and went along as if I had made my mind up and I was going. Dad looked on and watched with what seemed to be a mixture of proudness and sadness. He had clearly accepted there was a possibility I wasn't coming back.

A position was also worked out for me. I would be doing a mixture of linguistics and Astrophysics. That meant to me I would be based in languages unless I was needed in Dr McKay's department.

The big day came and I was stood in the control room, watching the flurry of activity. I was called to help Lieutenant Ford work out an issue with a couple of foreign scientists who couldn't speak English.

I went back and was helping Dr Weir with a case that wouldn't shut when Dad walked in and clapped his hands. With a smile he looked around and said to no one in particular.

'Are we there yet?'

Weir looked up with a matching smile 'Just waiting on Dr McKay'

McKay was wiring up the ZPM in a separate room. Dad grabbed my arm just before I was about to check.

'Come here a sec' He muttered

'What?' I asked

'Sam couldn't be here and neither could Teal'c. They send their congratulations and good luck' He said

'Oh' I answered in a small voice 'Is that all?'

'No. I er, have something here for you' he answered

He went to a drawer and pulled out two wrapped gifts. The paper on one was different and I looked up questioningly. Weir wandered off and gave us some privacy; she flashed me a small smile before she left though.

'That one is from Sam' Dad said passing me the slightly bigger one

I carefully unwrapped it. I didn't receive gifts like this often and what I pulled out of the paper made my eyes water. It was a small photograph album; there were only about ten pictures in it with space for more. Ones of me and my dad, ones of me and her, me and Teal'c, me and Daniel and one of the five of us stood together. It was the last picture that cracked my resolve.

It was a picture of me at eight holding a baby Charlie, Dad was smiling down proudly at us. I think Sarah must've taken the picture because she wasn't in it. I wiped my eyes and looked up at Dad. He hugged me and wiped a stray tear.

'Go on, open mine' He said eagerly

I smiled and opened it. It was a small black box, I opened it and a small pendant lay inside. It was the Earth Chevron, in plain sterling silver and in the top circle lay a small clear gem.

I gasped 'Where did you get this?' I asked, breathless.

'We made it here. Well, most of it. Teal'c provided the gem from his planet, Daniel and Sam located a fine jeweller to get the chain and I bought some silver. Teal'c made the mould and melted down the silver, polished it up, set the gem and everything' Dad said

'It's beautiful, thank you' I said

He took the chain and fastened it around my neck for me. I tucked it away into my shirt and smiled up at my father

'Tell Sam and Teal'c I love it' I said

Dad nodded. I turned and Daniel was stood there. I rushed at him and hugged him.

'Thank you' I said

'We'll miss you here. You're practically a fifth member of our team' He said

'You'll be fine without me' I smiled

Weir went into the gate room 'Can I have everyone's attention please!'

Everyone looked up at her expectantly and I noticed John Sheppard was stood in the crowd. Dad stood on one side of me and Daniel stood on the other.

'Alright, here we go. We are about to try to make a connection. We have been unable to predict exactly how much power this is gonna take and we may only get the one chance at this, so if we are able to achieve a stable wormhole, we're not gonna risk shutting the Gate down. We'll send in the M.A.L.P robot probe, check for viability and go. Everything in one shot' Weir said, her voice was strong and commanding and I had no doubt she was the best leader for this.

I looked up at Dad, he was watching with what looked like a mixture of happiness but also sadness. I looked back at Weir who had a softer look about her now.

'Now, every one of you volunteered for this mission and you represent over a dozen countries. You are the world's best and brightest; and in light of the adventure we are about to embark on, you are also the bravest. I hope we all return one day having discovered a whole new realm for humanity to explore, but as all of you know, we may never be able to return home. I'd like to offer you all one last chance to withdraw your participation'

I swallowed; this was crunch time for me. A few members of the expedition looked around but no one moved. I took a deep breath and stood still too. This was something I knew I may never get chance to do again. I was now resolute in my decision. Dad clapped his hand on my shoulder with a proud look on his face.

'Begin the dialling sequence' Weir said

She came back into the control room and stood beside my Dad. He turned to her as the technician called out the locked chevrons.

'Nice' he said

'Thanks' She smiled appreciatively

McKay walked in and stood watching as Weir fidgeted excitedly.

'This is' She was practically squirming

She looked McKay up and down as he looked on, still quite calm.

'Guess I've got to calm down, how embarrassing' she commented humorously

'I've never been more excited in my entire life' McKay commented, a hint of sarcasm thrown in.

I couldn't resist a little giggle as the gate locked on to the last chevron. It gave the signature kind of kawoosh and then settled into the calm state. Everyone applauded and Dad smiled as Weir turned to the technician.

'Send the MALP' she asked politely

The technician activated a control and the M.A.L.P., which had been waiting on the ramp moved up the ramp and into the wormhole.

In the Control Room, the technician's screen initially showed "NO SIGNAL" but then beeped. A signal began to feed through.

'We have M.A.L.P. telemetry' He reported

I looked over McKay's shoulder at the screen he had sat down at. The radar looked to be showing a large room with full and viable life support.

'What is it we're looking at?' Weir asked

I looked up at the screen she was looking at and saw it showed very little information.

'Switching to zero lux' the technician reported

I looked as the feed turned into a live camera. It was looking at something which was faintly glowing. There was no rubble around and I looked back down at the screen McKay was looking at.

'Radar is indicating a large room' he said

'It's structurally intact?' Daniel asked

'Yes, with oxygen and no toxins. Full and viable life-support. Can you believe it?' I asked sudden excitement and anticipation taking hold.

'Looks like we aren't getting out of this' McKay said

He turned and left the room. Weir turned almost nervously to Dad. He smiled at her.

'Dr Weir, you have a go' He said

'Thank you...sir' She turned to leave before looking back at me.

'You coming?' She asked

I looked up at Dad. He pulled me into one last hug. Daniel did the same. I picked up my pack and followed Dr Weir into the gateroom. I located Major Sheppard and headed straight for him.

'Hello Major' I said brightly

He looked genuinely pleased to see me, maybe I was the only friendly face he had encountered so far.

'I was wondering when I'd be seeing you doc' He smiled

'I'm like a bad penny, keep showing up' I smiled

Colonel Sumner had made his way up the ramp, weir and a few military personnel in tow. Sumner walked into the wormhole. Weir stopped and looked back at everyone before turning and stepping through herself. A few more men walked through.

Ford and Sheppard walked up the ramp and stood at the top waiting for instructions. Dad's voice came up on the intercom.

'Expedition team, move out'

I walked up the ramp myself behind Ford and Sheppard. Sheppard looked really nervous, Ford calm.

'What's it feel like?' Sheppard asked suddenly

'Hurts like hell sir' Ford said seriously

Sheppard looked at me desperately. I shook my head and glared at Ford who grinned and threw himself through the event horizon with a whoop. Sheppard stepped right up to it and looked back at me.

'Get on with it you big baby!'

I shoved him through. I looked back at Dad one last time, he waved and I waved back. I turned around and stepped through without hesitation.


	4. Chapter 3 Atlantis and Problems

I stepped out of the wormhole into a cool and wide open room. I looked around in awe. It was a massive room that went right up, the tiled walls were artistic and uniquely Ancient in style. I looked back to a beautiful Stargate with blue chevron locks, the chevrons themselves looked like star constellations. If the Stargates could be considered beautiful this one definitely was.

My eyes ended on Sheppard who looked at me with a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

'What?' I asked

'I will get you back for that little stunt' He replied, a devious edge to his voice.

'I'll be on guard then' I shot back, sticking my tongue out childishly.

We moved away into the room. McKay followed us towards the steps, Sheppard and I put our feet on the steps and they lit up automatically. We glanced at each other nervously and then looked at McKay for an explanation who shrugged.

'Who's doing that?' Weir called

Sumner activated his radio 'Security teams, any alien contact?'

Two negative replies came back so we went further up the steps. Sheppard got to what looked like a control room first. The lights inside came on, he looked back.

'The lights are coming on by themselves' He said

'More likely they're detecting you ATA Gene' I said thoughtfully

I walked into to room and went to one of what I could only describe as a desk with a sheer table cloth over it. Even with the sheet covering it, when I touched it, it lit up. Sheppard tugged my arm and I shook him off and pulled the sheet clean off the desk.

It was covered in brightly lit buttons and the metal it was set in was covered in artistic patters set into the metal in blue which contrasted with the orange lit buttons.

McKay peered over my shoulder and when I looked at him he looked like he was now containing massive excitement. I grinned and moved aside so he could get a closer look.

'Fascinating' He muttered under his breath 'Absolutely fascinating'

I moved off and found Beckett. He'd dumped his bags and looked ready to move off and explore himself. He smiled and walked off. Keen to stick close to Weir and Sheppard for now I stayed and went back up into the control room.

I got there just as the last people came through. Weir stood watching. Sumner turned to her and handed her a radio.

'That's everyone' he said

Weir took the radio and turned it on 'General O'Neill. Atlantis base offers greetings from the Pegasus Galaxy. You may cut power to the Gate'

A single massive bottle of champagne rolled out of the gate and then the wormhole shut off. I felt my stomach drop. I was cut off from my father, for how long I didn't know. Weir picked the bottle up and read the label. She smiled and held it to me.

It read "Bon Voyage! General Jack O'Neill"

I put my hand to my heart and felt my eyes well up again. Elizabeth put her hand on my shoulder. Then she walked away. I stood at the gate and jumped when I felt another hand on my shoulder. Sheppard was looking down at me in concern.

'You okay?' He asked

'Yeah, I'm fine' I plastered a smile on my face and it probably looked very fake but he let it slide.

'Come on. There's cool stuff up there' He grinned

I followed him after one last look at the Stargate. I watched as he made his way behind a control panel. A massive screen lit up behind him.

'I didn't touch anything' He said quickly

'Relax Major, it's like the city is sensing our presence and coming to life' Weir said, clearly delighted.

McKay was now pulling the silky sheets off the desks 'This has got to be the Control Room'

He looked down at the console he just uncovered with an uncharacteristically excited grin

'This is obviously their version of a D.H.D.' He said

'Oh obviously' Sheppard replied looking around

'This area could be power control systems' I said, indicating to the control panel I was looking at

'Possibly a computer interface could-'

'Why don't you find out?' Weir suggested

'Right' McKay said with a sheepish grin

I dumped my pack on the floor and smoothed my uniform as Weir received an alert over the radio.

'_Doctor Weir. Colonel Sumner. Can you come down and meet me, please? We're three levels down from you_'

'Right away, come on you two' she said indicating to me and Sheppard

We followed Weir to meet Sumner. Her nodded to her and me and then made some kind of begrudging kind of twitch towards Sheppard. I looked at him with an eyebrow raised and Sheppard just shrugged.

'We've only been able to secure a fraction of the place. It's huge' Sumner said

'So it might really be the lost city of Atlantis?' Weir asked

'It's a good bet' Sumner said as he led us to a massive window.

It tooka second for it to sink in. One minute I was thinking it looked mighty blue outside and then I realised.

'Oh my god' I blurted

Weir put her hand on the glass 'We're underwater'

I looked at Sheppard and he looked out of the window a concerned look on his face. I looked back out.

'I'd say we're under several feet of ocean. If we can't dial out-'

'This is a problem' I finished the sentence

Sumner nodded, a grim look on his face.

'Dr Weir, Colonel-'

'We're underwater!' Sheppard said

'Yes I was just, uh, coming to tell you. Fortunately there is some sort of a forcefield holding back the w...water'

He stopped and stared out of the window. I clapped my hand on his shoulder and he looked at me. A look of awe on his face.

'Oh, that is impressive, isn't it?' He said eventually

'Yeah!' I replied

We all stared out of the window for a second, simply blown away by the beautiful sight. McKay seemed to shake himself and clear his throat.

'Doctor Beckett has found something interesting. You should come and see'

McKay led us through some corridors and entered a room. Beckett was stood on some kind of pedestal with a small console in front of him. Beyond that in the centre of the room a glowing woman was stood there. She was clearly a hologram but whoever had recorded it was a very beautiful woman wearing long white robes.

'... in the hope of spreading new life in a galaxy where there appeared to be none. Soon the new life grew, prospered. Here-'

Beckett turned to us 'It's a hologram. The recording loops. This is my second time through' he explained

'What have we missed?' Sumner asked

'Not much' Beckett replied before turning back to the hologram.

The hologram was telling a story about how they had seeded life into the Pegasus Galaxy and tried to help it grow. They had encountered powerful enemies and been forced to submerge the city and then leave. When she finished there was a slightly sad tone to her voice

'So, the myth of Atlantis is true then' I said, breaking the silence.

'A great city that sank into the ocean' McKay finished

'It just didn't happen on Earth' Sumner chipped in

'One of the Ancient Greeks must've heard it from one of the surviving Ancients. Then interpreted it into the story everyone today knows' I replied

Peter Grodin hurried in and was frantically whispering in McKay's ear.

'I don't like the fact they got their asses kicked' Sumner said, voicing what most of us were thinking.

Beckett stepped back up onto the podium 'Let's hear it again from the beginning' He said

The woman had time to come up and nod with a smile before McKay spoke up. A frightened look on his face.

'Stop! Turn it off now' He said

Beckett stepped off and the Hologram disappeared. I looked at McKay in concern.

'Power levels throughout the city are dropping like a stone' He said

My stomach dropped as Sumner asked 'What does that mean?'

'It means if we don't stop what we're doing right now, we are dead'

McKay turned and hurried from the room. Grodin and I followed, then Sumner, Weir and Sheppard.

We rushed into the Gateroom and I commandeered the nearest laptop and started to investigate.

McKay, hooked a few wires into it and leaned over my shoulder. We dug around for a few moments and squabbled over what to look for. In that moment all the stories Sam had told me about him I believed to be true.

Beckett walked over and tapped my shoulder 'Please tell me this isn't my fault' he asked

I put my hand reassuringly on his arm 'No, it isn't Doctor'

'Oh thank you!' He breathed

'From what we've been able to ascertain, the city is powered by three Zero Point Modules. Two are entirely depleted and the third is reaching maximum entropy' McKay explained

'When it does, it'll die too. And there's no stopping it' I finished

'Just tell me the bottom line' Sumner said, looking slightly annoyed

'The forcefield holding back the ocean has collapsed to its minimum sustainable levels. Look, you can see-'

He turned the laptop towards them and I stepped around it. The star shape of Atlantis was on the screen and some areas around the outside were red, a little further in was orange and the rest were green. I indicated to the red parts.

'Here, and here, where the shield's already failed and the city's flooded. It could have happened years ago though. The orange areas are where the shield is about to fail' I said

'This part must be most protected because of the gate' McKay said

'What happens if the shield fails completely?' Sheppard asked

McKay and I looked at each other for a second.

'It's not a case of if, more when it fails' I replied with a grimace.

'Colonel Sumner, you need to order your security team to stop searching the city immediately!' Weir said

Sumner spoke into the radio and ordered the security teams to return to the gate room.

'It's not going to be enough' McKay said

'Alright well how much time do we have?' Weir asked

'It's hard to say, hours, maybe days if we minimise power expenditure' McKay said

Weir turned to him 'Hours!'

'What about our own power generators?' Beckett asked

'We're working on that' I replied

'Even with the Naquhdah Generators, the equations are coming up far short' McKay finished

'So we need more ZPMs' Weir suggested

'How are we supposed to find them if we can't search the city?' Sumner asked, an annoyed tone evident in his voice.

I felt myself bristle at his impatience

'If there were more here we'd have detected them by now' McKay replied equally as annoyed.

'What about the Stargate' Sumner asked

'There isn't enough power to gate back to Earth' I said

'Maybe somewhere in this galaxy?' Sheppard asked

'That's relatively easy' McKay said

I looked at Sheppard with approval and followed McKay to a console where Grodin was working already.

'Fortunately some Ancient technology still uses good old-fashioned push buttons, so we've been able to access the Stargate control system and a library of known Gate addresses in the database' McKay explained

'Thats not all, look at this' Grodin said, he pushed a button and a thin film of sparkly blue covered the area where the event horizon covered.

'Like the Iris on the Earth gate' Sumner said

'Using Power, using power, using power' McKay said quietly

Peter realised what he meant and shut it off. Weir nodded in approval.

'At least we don't have to deal with uninvited guests' Weir said

'Not to mention it's seriously cool' I whispered to Sheppard who chuckled.

Weir turned to Sumner 'Colonel, assemble a team. We need safe harbour, or better still another power source'

Sumner nodded 'Lieutenant Ford, gather security teams one and two. Everyone gear up'

'Major, I want you to go along' Weir said

'Yes Ma'am' Sheppard replied

He headed down to the gate room and I sat back on a stool and pulled up the list of gate addresses.

'Okay, pick one and dial it' Weir said

McKay reached over me and pointed to the first one on the list. I cautiously pressed in the first glass panel button and the Stargate made an odd whirring noise, bright lights spun around the outside of the gate and one locked on.

'Chevron one encoded' McKay said

'Rodney' Weir said, shaking her head.

McKay looked back at her 'Fine' he said

I proceeded to punch in the rest of the dialling sequence and the gate locked on and the event horizon whooshed in and settled. Grodin sent a M.A.L.P through and then went down into the gate room to greet the security teams and brief them.

I exchanged a glance with Weir and we both got up and walked onto the balcony over the gate room. I watched with my nerves tingling as they prepared to leave.

Sumner glared at Sheppard, looked up at Weir who nodded to him. He nodded back and yelled out 'Let's move out!'

He pulled some goggles down over his eyes and headed out. Sheppard was the last to leave. He turned and waved at us and headed through the wormhole himself. Then they were gone and McKay shut down the gate.


	5. Chapter 4 The Rising of the City

Once Sumner had taken the teams through the gate there wasn't much to do. I stayed in the control room and got a couple of scientists to help me try and pull up the database.

Weir pottered around and kept sighing worriedly. Eventually I got up and joined her.

'Are you alright Dr Weir?' I asked

'Yes, yes' She answered

I raised my eyebrow at her and she sighed again. She put her hand over her eyes and seemed to let her guard down for a second.

'I'm worried, about what is going to happen' She replied after awhile

I didn't really know what to do, so I just put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She looked at me gratefully and I went back to work. Some time later she moved off and McKay came in and started to check what we were doing against what he had been doing.

'Dr McKay, a word?' I asked

'Yeah' He answered

I showed him my laptop and the readings we had managed to get.

'These readings aren't telling me good things' I said

'I know. It's all really worrying' McKay replied, his eyebrows furrowed.

'What are we going to do? If Sumner doesn't report back we may have to take everything and leave anyway' I said

'Hopefully it won't quite come to that' McKay said

'But we will have to abandon the city' I said 'And soon so we can at least preserve it and stop it from completely flooding'

'I know I know' McKay said

I went back to work again and Weir came back with Grodin in tow.

'How are we doing? Look, if we can just buy ourselves another day, maybe we could-'

'The city is sacrificing parts of itself to try and maintain these main areas' McKay said impatiently before looking at me for help

'Catastrophic failure is inevitable now' I said quietly

'Not in my wildest dreams would I hope to find the lost city of the Ancients so completely untouched, so pristine, and we have no choice but to walk away from this?' Weir asked, her voice slightly raised

'In order to save it!' McKay shouted back

'To save it for whom? We don't have enough power to send a message. As far as Earth is concerned we're just going to be missing, presumed lost' Weir said angrily

Deciding things getting heated like this wasn't helping I stepped in.

'Look, arguing and fighting isn't going to help' I said loudly earning both the attention of Weir and McKay 'We'll be back, we can find another power source in Pegasus'

'We have yet to hear from Colonel Sumner. We've got no idea what's out there' Weir said

'We can't wait. It is time to go now' McKay said

Weir seemed to growl in frustration before activating her radio and linking to the intercom.

'Attention all personnel. This is Weir-'

Before she could finish the city began to rumble and shake. I grabbed my laptop and clung onto my chair. I gritted my teeth fearfully but refused to panic. Weir did the same thing but the fear was visible in her face.

'Stand by for immediate evacuation!' She finished, she turned to McKay 'Dial the Gate'

McKay pushed two chevrons in but the gate began dialling a new sequence and I immediately knew what was happening.

'That's an incoming wormhole!' I exclaimed

The wormhole locked on and the gate activated but the force field we had discovered earlier activated too.

'I'm reading Ford's IDC' I shouted

'Let him in' Weir called back

McKay deactivated the shield and then Sheppard stepped in. After him came strangers that looked like they were probably from the settlement they had just visited.

Weir rushed down. I followed her, eager to hear what Sheppard had to say.

'Step in folks move away from the puddle' He called, ushering people coming through away from the event horizon.

'Major Sheppard, who are all these people?' Weir asked

'Survivors from the settlement. We were attacked. Sumner and some of our men were taken' he answered

He looked around almost comically starting to notice the city was shaking. He looked between us.

'What's going on?' he asked

'We are in no condition to help anyone right now' Weir hissed

'What the hell's going on here?' He asked loudly

'We are about to abandon the city' I answered

He looked between us both again

'Going back there is a really bad idea' He said

'Major Sheppard, the shield is about to fail and the ocean is about to come crashing in on us. Do you have a better place for us to go?' Weir asked desperately

He turned to the villagers 'Jinto, do you have any other addresses we could gate to?'

A little boy spoke up and Weir and I exchanged a glance as he answered 'Yes, many'

Sheppard grabbed him and then my arm too.

'He's just a boy!' Weir exclaimed

'I am Jinto' The little boy said in a bright voice

'They're pleased to meet you' John replied, continuing to pull us up the stairs.

McKay leaned over the balcony 'The shields collapsing now!' he shouted

There was a violent jolt and a flash of bright light and Jinto and I crashed onto Sheppard, I squeaked in fear. Sheppard wrapped an arm around my waist and twisted so he was leaning over me, sort of shielding my body from whatever would happen. I heard lots of shouting and suddenly there was a strange sensation as the city seemed to rise.

'We're moving!' Sheppard shouted, his voice booming in my ear.

Above us at the top of the stairs sunlight poured in through the window. Sheppard's arm tightened around my waist. And he got off me and then helped me up. I pulled Jinto to his feet and we all made our way to the window.

Water was still pouring down the window but we could see out of. We were floating in the middle of the sea. There was no sign of land anywhere. Ford was beside me and he grabbed my arm excitedly.

'We're on the surface' He grinned

Weir sighed in relief 'I was hoping for a day, it looks like we got so much more than that' She said

'Let's not waste it' I replied with a smile

Later on in the day everyone had started to try and clear things out of the gate room and into areas we could store things for the time being. I had already shifted a lot of gear into a lab McKay had determined we could use to conduct research and work. I even had a small office to myself.

I was called back to the control room to meet with McKay.

'The last Zero Point Module is depleted, but limited power. Turned out that our generators aren't going to hold back an ocean' McKay said

'Life support systems are working but the planet's atmosphere's breathable-' I continued

'-well, notwithstanding the inevitable allergens' McKay finished

'So now can our naqahdah generators supply enough power to the shield for defensive purposes?' Weir asked

'Not even close' McKay replied

'On the surface without a shield? We're target practice' Sheppard stated

'I'm acutely aware of that, Major, but thank you for reinforcing it' McKay replied sarcastically

'When can you tell me where the Wraith took Colonel Sumner and the others?' Sheppard tried

'Even with the six symbols Lieutenant Ford provided there are still hundreds of permutations' McKay started

I was just working out in my head how many combinations that could mean when Sheppard answered.

'Seven hundred and twenty' He said

I raised my eyebrow but didn't say anything.

'Yes. I knew that of course. I'm just surprised you did' McKay said

'Take away the coordinates you can't get a lock on, and that's your one. When you find it, send a M.A.L.P' Sheppard said

'I'll do it. We can see you've got enough on your plate McKay' I said sarcastically

Sheppard nodded a thanks as I walked past. As I left I heard Weir ask for a word with him in a nasty tone.

I put the address into my laptop and set it looking for the correct sequence of chevrons. It had gotten halfway through when Sheppard came in. I looked up at him and then back at the laptop.

'I take it Weir wasn't very impressed' I stated

'She's implied that one of the Athosians could've informed the Wraith we arrived' He said

'I'm neutral ground alright, I'm not taking any side in this' I said holding my hands up

Sheppard chuckled before plonking himself down into a stool on the other side of the desk. He indicated to my face and I realised to the glasses I was now wearing to see the laptop properly.

'Glasses?' He asked

'Yes' I answered as if I didn't know the glasses were there before smiling.

'Okay' Sheppard laughed 'I didn't really spend much time with your father but you act like him'

'Thanks' I smiled and looking back to my laptop

'Are you gonna miss him?' He asked

'Bit personal these questions don't you think Major?' I pointed out without looking back up at him.

'C'mon. We're stuck on a city in the middle of nowhere. How much more personal can we get?' Sheppard asked

I looked up at him 'Alright, you have a point. Why do _you_ want to know whether I'll miss my Dad or not?'

'We need friends out here the way we are' Sheppard said

'You brought a whole village back here. How many more friends can you want?' I asked

'Just one' He grinned

'I'll miss him a lot. He was all I had' I replied with a small smile

'No Mother?' Sheppard asked

'Never knew her. You're looking at the result of a one-night-stand and one party didn't want to take responsibility. Luckily the other did or I would've turned out far differently' I replied, the bitter edge coming whenever I did think of my mother

'Something tell me you're quite mad with her' Sheppard said

'Wouldn't you be? It takes a certain kind of woman to abandon her baby with someone she barely knew' I shot back

'I'm not on speaking terms with my family either' Sheppard said, diverting my attention.

'What do you mean?' I asked

'Mom died, fell out with Dad and my brother took his side. So I went out on my own' Sheppard said

'That's sad' I replied softly

'Yeah, I suppose' Sheppard said

My laptop beeped and I looked down.

'Got a lock' I reported

I pulled my glasses off, threw them into the drawer in my desk and picked my laptop up. Sheppard hadn't moved.

'You coming?' I asked

'Yeah, I was just thinking. How do you plan to maintain that hair colour?' He asked as he followed me out of the room, through the lab where McKay joined us and out into the corridor.

I laughed at his question 'My personal items were some pictures and a crate of hair dye' I said 'I was also given gifts in the gateroom so I snuck those with me'

'Really?' Sheppard asked with a grin

'Hair dye? You came all the way to the Pegasus Galaxy and they one thing you wanted to make sure you had was hair dye?' McKay asked

'Yes McKay' I snapped 'What did you bring then?'

'Me? I brought a crate of food and a copy of my first published math proof' McKay, seemed to puff his chest up proudly.

'Good to know' I replied 'Major?'

'I brought a video and a book' Sheppard replied

'A video?' I asked

'Yeah, a good football game' Sheppard replied

'A football game?' Both me and McKay exclaimed

'Of all the silly things- What book did you bring then?' McKay asked

'War and Peace' Sheppard said

'A good read' I replied

'Actually yes it is' McKay replied

We continued the rest of the way to the control room in silence. Maybe life here wasn't going to be so bad'


	6. Chapter 5 Rescue and Socialising

'Dr Weir, we have a lock. With your permission we want to send a M.A.L.P' I said

She nodded and followed me through to the control room. I plonked my laptop down in front of Grodin and he punched in the sequence my calculations had locked onto.

'Sending the M.A.L.P' Grodin reported

We all looked at the laptop screen expectantly.

'Receiving visual telemetry' Grodin reported

'I can't see anything' Weir replied

'There's no atmospheric readings at all' McKay said

We stood watching the screen and a round object flashed past the camera.

'What was that?' Sheppard asked

'Can we rotate the camera?' I asked

The camera rotated and shows a round bright light, then moves around further to show that the M.A.L.P was floating way above a planet. The camera rotated some more and we could see the Stargate drifting in space.

'Well there goes that M.A.L.P!' McKay exclaimed

'It's in space!' Sheppard exclaimed

'It's in high orbit around a planet on the far side of the galaxy' McKay corrected

'You're sure this is the right address?' Weir asked

'It's the only one I could calculate a lock on' I replied regretfully

'Very well. Shut it down' Weir ordered, she turned to Sheppard 'I'm sorry'

I put my hand on his shoulder and sighed. I was due an appointment with Beckett so I excused myself and left.

XxXxX

In the Infirmary I went to Beckett's office and knocked on the door. He came and opened it with a bright smile.

'Come on in Dr' He said politely

I went inside and sat down. Inside was a desk with a chair behind it and in front of it, a rack of tools and implements and a bed. Beckett sat behind the desk and opened a folder.

'It says here you've been prescribed Prozac twice in your lifetime once over the course of three years when you were eighteen and then again for a year when you were twenty five' Beckett stated

I felt my stomach drop 'I took tests before I was accepted onto this mission. I can fully assure you I'm sound of mind and mood' I replied coldly

'I'm sure you are, I'm curious as to why' Beckett said patiently

'I'm sure it says in my file' I shot back

'It does. I want to hear it from you though' Beckett said

'I don't like to talk about it' I said

'Why?' Beckett asked

'I just don't. It's personal, really personal. I hate that it's written down in a file for people to see if the dig deep enough and I hate it when it comes up I've been on Prozac too' I replied

'It says you had nightmares' Beckett said softly

I stopped and looked at my hands which were twisted together in my lap. My eyes watered with embarrassment.

'Yes I did' I replied in a small voice

'Do you still have them?' Beckett asked

'Occasionally. It's easier to manage now' I said

'I only ask because I worry Marlene. You're separated from your father and with people you don't know personally. I just want you to know you can come and talk to me, as a doctor and as a friend whenever you need to' Beckett said

I looked up at him and all I could see in his eyes was concern and sincerity. I nodded gratefully.

'Thank you. And it's Marley' I replied

'In that case, Marley, it's Carson' Beckett replied

'Thank you Carson' I said

'Any time' Carson replied 'if you'll excuse me I have an examination to finish and Dr Weir to see'

I left feeling good and went straight back to my lab to find McKay preparing for a rescue mission.

'Well, that didn't take Sheppard long to convince Dr Weir' I said

'Yeah I know. Come on, might need you' McKay said

I hurried with him into the control room. Weir was stood watching, looking quite tense. He sat himself at the control desk. Weir stood beside him.

'Ready?'

'I have no idea. This technology is so far beyond us, I haven't a clue what we're dealing with. For all I know, we could-' I elbowed him sharply as Weir gave him a look 'Ouch! Yeah we're ready'

'_Flight, this is...Puddle Jumper.__We're go for launch_' Sheppard's voice came through the comm system.

I sniggered at the name for the little ships that had been found. McKay sighed in irritation and pushed a button to reply.

'Er, this is Flight. I thought we were going with Gateship?'

'_Negative, Flight_'

'Stand by' McKay turned to Weir and I 'It's a ship; it goes through the Gate, I, I-' Weir and I looked at each other before looking back, both of us had a raised eyebrow 'Fine - Puddle Jumper, you are clear for launch'

The ceiling opened as the gate whooshed to life. The newly named Puddle Jumper lowered slowly into the gate room.

'Now we know why the gate room is so big' I said

'Yeah' Weir replied

The little ship made a sort of revving noise and then it was gone through the gate. I took a deep breath and sighed. I smiled slightly at Weir who gave me a small smile back and she headed back into the little room just off the control room which she'd clearly claimed as her office.

I headed back into my lab and Jinto followed me. I'd agreed to share with Dr Zalenka as McKay wouldn't share his own lab which was far bigger. The three of us began to move small amounts of furniture into our lab. The room wasn't massive but we could both fit a desk each, a filing cabinet and two laptops.

McKay and I also started to set up some equipment in the main lab with the rest of the scientists. We all managed to laugh and joke and find some light into being stuck in a galaxy away from home.

'I'm going to go down to the gate room and check in on Weir. We should all get something to eat' McKay said

'We've not been here that long' I replied

'Still, we've worked hard' Zalenka said

'There's still lot's to do' McKay replied

'We'll keep working on it' I said

A short while later I also went down to the gate room and brought Jinto back with me. We were chatting to Grodin when the gate activated. Grodin and I looked at each other. I flipped up a laptop lid and Grodin shouted out.

'Off-world activation!'

'Raise the shield!' Weir shouted back, coming to the control room.

The shield was raised and Grodin and I watched the laptop screen for an IDC.

'Do we have an identification code?' Weir asked

'Nothing yet' I said, tense.

Marines flanked the gate, guns poised but leaving enough room that if it was the Puddle Jumper there was enough room for it to come back through.

Ford's IDC flashed up.

'I'm reading Lieutenant Ford's IDC!' McKay yelled

'Let 'em in!' Weir commanded

Grodin hit the button and lowered the shield. There was a few seconds and a few shots came into the gateroom. It exploded against a wall nearly taking out a marine who dove for cover.

We all ducked behind out consoles, I pulled Jinto down and shielded him. Grodin's hand hovered over the shut off button. I pulled his hand away and Weir shouted to give them a bit more time.

My stomach flipped and I spilled over and shuddered. Grodin gripped my hand and squeezed reassuringly.

The Puddle Jumper came flying in and stopped just short of the steps and the marines.

'Reactivate the shield!' Weir shouted and Grodin hit the button.

There were two massive flashed of light and then the gate shut down. The Puddle Jumper rose into the bay and Weir, Jinto and I hurried as quickly as we could through the corridors. We burst into the Jumper bay and Sheppard and his team as well as what must have been a few village captives were just leaving the Jumper.

I yelled in delight and flung myself at Sheppard who grabbed onto me and hugged back. I hugged Ford too who laughed at my enthusiasm. Jinto had cannoned into a man who I could only assume was his father.

'Dr O'Neill, this it Teyla and Halling' Sheppard introduced me to the two villagers

'It is nice to meet you' The woman greeted me

'Father, this is Marlene. She's looked after me while Major Sheppard went to fetch you' Jinto said

'Dr, it is a pleasure to meet you' Halling smiled

'You too, you have a wonderful boy' I replied

'Yes I do' He replied

'C'mon, what have you been doing?' Sheppard asked

He put his hand in the small of my back and guided me from the Jumper bay. I explained what we'd been doing in the science area. It was then I realised I hadn't seen Colonel Sumner in the Jumper.

'What happened to Sumner?' I asked

Sheppard looked away from me.

'What happened?' I asked

'These Wraith, they're unlike anything I've seen. The female had her hand on his chest and Sumner looked about twenty years older than when I last saw him' Sheppard replied 'I shot him'

I took a deep breath and I could only guess at the pain of how difficult that decision had been for him. He was certainly hiding it, his eyes were blank. I took his hand in mine and smiled.

'I'm sure you did everything you could. What you did was very brave' I said

'I have to live with that' Sheppard replied

'Yeah, but there are people here who will help you with that. I will help you with that' I replied

'Thanks' Sheppard said

We all helped set up a small party for that evening so the Atlantis personnel and the villagers could socialise and mix and we could all get to know each other. It was the perfect way to celebrate.

Sheppard, Ford and I walked out onto a balcony and looked out over the sea. I closed my eyes and smiled as the sea breeze rippled across my face.

'So I guess this is home now' Ford said, jolting me back.

'I guess so' Sheppard replied

'I'm thinking a little place with an ocean view. Out of the way' Ford said with a grin

'I like the way you think Lieutenant' I smiled

'Call me Aiden' He replied

'Alright, call me Marley' I said

'Wait, I thought your name was Marlene?' Sheppard asked

'Yeah but Marley is what everyone calls me. Including you' I replied, nudging him.

'Major, Lieutenant, Dr, I thought the occaision merited opening this' Weir gave us a mug and kept one herself 'Compliments of General O'Neill'

I smiled as I realised this must've been the champagne that he'd rolled through the gate. My eyes watered slightly as we clinked our mugs together. I sipped the champagne.

'You did good John' Weir said

I glanced up at John who had a funny sort of look on his face.

'I don't know about that' He replied, his voice tense.

Weir looked at him sternly 'Hey, there was no way you could have saved Colonel Sumner'

'I have to live with it' John echoed what he'd said to me earlier

Weir nodded and I gripped his hand and squeezed. He squeezed back but didn't break eye contact with Weir.

'I'm beginning to think you were right. I have made things much worse. I haven't made us many more friends out there' He finished

'No?' Weir asked and she looked behind her 'Look around'

We all looked at the villagers milling happily with our personnel. Halling and Jinto were touching foreheads and I'd been told this was a typical Athosian greeting and clearly a way of showing affection too.

Teyla approached us 'I agree, Major Sheppard'

She put her hands on his shoulders and bowed her head. Sheppard looked awkward as he dipped his forehead to hers and touched. She raised her head and shot me a funny sort of glare I couldn't quite compute before turning her attention back to Sheppard.

'You have earned both my friendship and that of my people. With our help you will make many more friends' She said

Teyla and Ford left the balcony. Jinto came over and tugged my hand so he could introduce me to his friends.

I smiled and laughed but in the back of my mind I couldn't understand the nasty glare Teyla had shot me or the feeling of dismay I had felt in the pit of my stomach. Nor the slight feeling of jealousy it had given me too.


	7. Chapter 6 Hide and Seek

McKay and I had been rooting around the research lab and had found some small devices. I was watching McKay sort through them, I wasn't allowed to touch anything new due to the fact it was strange technology and Halling had just got himself hurt the other day. I noticed him slip one into his pocket.

'Hey!' I said loudly

'What?' McKay asked defensively

'Don't you start thieving all the cool Ancient tech! I know what that is as much as you do' I replied annoyed

'I'm going to use it to test the Gene Therapy Beckett has made for non-gene holders' McKay replied

'Just take care of it' I replied 'We might need that one day'

MacKay went off to get his shot and at least an hour went by before he came back, his face excited. He prodded me to get my attention.

'What?' I asked

'Hit me!' He exclaimed

'Excuse me?' I asked, blinking

'Go on. Hit me!' McKay challenged

'Why would I hit you?' I asked

'Because I made you share your small office with Zalenka?' McKay tried

'I'm glad you realize that bit of selfishness pissed people off!' I exclaimed before shutting my laptop and walking away.

Unfortunately he was feeling persistent today.

'Oh c'mon, just hit me!' He pleaded

'No!' I shot back

'Do you know someone who will?' McKay asked

'Sheppard' I answered without thinking

'Great! Thanks O'Neill' McKay said before walking quickly away

'No-wait!'

I rushed after him and spent all the time to Sheppard's quarters squabbling. McKay rang the bell before I could stop him. I felt like hitting him now but I wasn't giving into the urge. Sheppard opened the door.

'Hit me!' McKay exclaimed

Sheppard blinked in confusion before looking at me for an explanation.

'He asked me, I refused. You deal with him' I said before turning around and walking away.

There was the noise of a small squabble before a pause, an impact noise and a grunt. I turned and Sheppard was clutching his hand, McKay stood unharmed.

'What happened?' I asked

'I hit him and he glowed green... there's some sort of forcefield!' Sheppard exclaimed

It suddenly twigged. McKay had the personal shield on, that meant his ATA Gene Therapy had worked.

'Oh! The Personal Shield!' I said

'You could've warned me!' Sheppard exclaimed

'I'm sorry, I didn't think the therapy would work so quickly' I said

'We need to test this, I mean really test it!' McKay said

I shook my head and looked at Sheppard to help me dissuade McKay from doing something stupid but found he had a sadistic kind of grin on his face. I rolled my eyes and turned to walk off but McKay grabbed my arm.

'I need you to record data' He said

'Record your own damn data! I'm not having any part in this' I hissed before going back to my lab.

About an hour later McKay came running in, a panicked look on his face. He stared at me for a second and I stared back with my eyebrows raised.

'Have you decided to grow up yet?' I asked

'There's a problem' McKay said, his hands twisting.

Seeing the genuinely petrified look on his face I put my laptop down and looked at him anxiously.

'What?' I asked

'I can't eat or drink, the shield won't allow it. I can't actually take it off either' McKay said

I frowned 'Have you tried thinking to shut it off?'

'Yeah but I can't seem to make it work' McKay replied, his voice pitching.

'Okay, calm down, panicking will get you nowhere. Breathe, relax' I soothed 'Now, it's possible you don't have a strong ATA Gene link and you'll have to really think. You're inexperienced and you'll just have to practice'

'Okay, breathe' McKay repeated

'Good. I'll look in the database and see what I can find, okay?' I said

'Okay' McKay said.

He looked a bit better; he muttered something about going to the Gateroom. I sat back to sift through the database by eye instead of scanning it with a computer.

Half an hour in and Weir had recruited Grodin and a few others to help me and Sheppard dropped by. I gave him a dirty look before going back to my laptop.

'Hey what was that for?' Sheppard asked

A few junior scientists looked up with interest. I got up and indicated he follow me to my office. I shut the door behind him and fixed him with a stern stare.

'You shouldn't have encouraged that silliness' I said

'Oh that-erm-'

'You are now the highest ranking military officer on this base. How can we follow you in confidence when something as silly as a personal shield can cause such immaturity?' I asked

Sheppard put his hand on the back of his neck, he looked at his shoes. I immediately felt guilty.

'I know we need to have fun, and we need to find light but I heard what you both did. You both had no idea what the capabilities of the shield were. What if shooting him or the balcony fall had really hurt him?' I asked

'Okay you're right. We didn't think' Sheppard said 'But why does this bother you? Even Weir didn't make such an issue'

I frowned and went to leave my office, I looked back at Sheppard carefully, not knowing whether he'd read my file or not.

'Maybe I'm overreacting, but I've seen the destruction of people playing with things they shouldn't first-hand' I replied.

XxXxX

After spending the better part of the day with the database I gave up for the night. I shut the lid just as Sheppard came in. This time I smiled at him.

'Now that's better' Sheppard grinned 'Hey, I'm gonna go and tell the Athosian kids a bedtime story, want to come? Jinto's been asking after you'

'You've become quite a figure with them' I teased, playfully nudging him with my elbow.

'Well, I did bring them here' Sheppard boasted lightly

'Oh shut up big head. I'll pass on the bedtime story, Teyla keeps giving me the evil-eye. See you later Shep'

I turned to go but Sheppard grabbed my arm and pulled me back, a frown on his face.

'What do you mean, Teyla keeps giving you the evil-eye?' He asked

I frowned 'I dunno, I guess she doesn't like me. Not everyone will'

'Well yeah but as far as I know you've never had a conversation with her'

'No I haven't. It's not a big issue you know, I'll keep out of her way and she seems to keep out of my way so it's not a big deal'

'Alright, if you're sure?' Sheppard asked

'Don't worry, good night' I smiled before heading off to my quarters.

It was creepy in the corridors when the lights dimmed at night. I made my way to my quarters and looked around when I got inside. I glared at my pack in the corner; I hadn't properly unpacked yet, just a few essentials.

I chose now to do it. I pulled out all my clothes and while I folded them into my draws and sorted through them I was thinking.

It did bother me a little bit about why Teyla had some sort of issue with me when she didn't know me and I didn't know her. Everyone else said she was kind and sweet, so why did she throw daggers with her eyes at me?

I looked down when I heard a clunk; I'd pulled more clothes out and dislodged something. I threw the jacket in question aside and picked up the photo frame. My eyes softened and watered slightly. It was a picture of me and Dad, happy as I was to see it; it was also a punch in the stomach. I hadn't thought about home until now. I hadn't allowed it.

I placed the picture on my bedside table gently and went back to my pack until it was empty. I shoved it in the gap underneath the drawers and got ready for bed. I'd just laid down when my door buzzed. I looked at the clock and it was about midnight. I got up, pulled my robe on and opened it.

Sheppard stood there, a worried frown on his face.

'Were you sleeping?' he asked

'Not yet, what's wrong?' I asked

'Jinto's gone missing' He said

'Okay, well, when?' I asked

'Halling doesn't know, at the moment we're going in teams of two, can you go with Ford? Take a life signs detector with you?' He asked

'Yeah sure'

I quickly went in, grabbed my radio and shook my robe off. I also pulled on my slippers. My pyjamas consisted of a black vest and baggy grey joggers. Sheppard raised his eyebrow but chose not to comment.

We went to Ford's quarters. Ford opened up, rubbing his eyes, he clearly had been asleep.

'Jinto's missing. Teams of two, you're with O'Neill, floor to floor sweep, now. Start with the Jumpers. Full gear' Sheppard said

He then bent in and muttered something to Ford I couldn't hear.

'Yes sir' Ford said

Sheppard gave one last nod to me and walked off. Ford looked at me.

'Did he get you out of bed too?' He asked

'Yeah' I said

Ford nodded and went into his quarters, shutting his door behind him. He came out five minutes later, fully dressed, loading a gun from in there. I shivered when I saw it and looked away.

'Come on then' Ford said and we headed down to the Jumper bay.

'So doc, what's your story?' Ford asked as we searched around the Jumpers

'Not much to tell really Lieutenant. You know who my Dad is?' I asked

'Yeah'

'My whole life has revolved around his career. When he was away I had a childminder and then when he was home he took care of me.' I said 'Then when he started on the Stargate Programme, my life revolved around that, even though I didn't know it at the time'

'I can imagine. Was it tough, growing up like that?' Ford asked

'Not really, it was the way it was' I replied 'What about you?'

'Not close with my parents; not all that good as parents either. I was practically raised by my Mom's parents. Me and my sister' Ford said

'Was that tough?' I asked

'A little, when I was younger. Then I just accepted it and carried on' Ford replied

'How did you get involved with the Stargate Programme?' I asked

'Air Force. Got transferred there when I was promoted to Lieutenant' Ford replied

The intercom system activated '_Jinto? This is Doctor Weir. If you can hear me, please respond. Jinto? If you're lost; if you can't-_'

The lights suddenly shut off and I grabbed Ford's arm.

'What the hell?' Ford asked

I looked around and didn't really have time to do anything before the lights flickered back on. I activated my radio.

'Control room, this is Dr O'Neill, the lights switched off and then on again in the Jumper Bay' I reported

'_This is Weir; we're having some technical difficult-_'

She cut off and I tapped my radio again 'Hello, can you hear me?'

There was another few minutes pause before she responded.

'_Can you make your way to the control room Dr? We're having technical difficulties_'

'Okay'

I turned to Ford 'They want us up at the control room'

In the control room we caught the tail end of McKay theorising.

'-that or the way we isolated certain systems could be causing erroneous operations in the Ancient programming' He finished

'I'll run a diagnostic on the power flow' Grodin suggested

'Anything I can do?' I asked

'Yes, could you scan for anything like this logged in the database?' Weir asked, she took another look at me 'Are you in your pyjamas?' an amused edge to her voice.

'Okay. And yes, I was concerned about Jinto and I partnered with Ford to look in the Jumper bay'

'There isn't anything in there' Ford reported

'Okay, Major Stackhouse is currently two floors above the Jumper Bay, take a life signs detector and partner with him instead'

I handed Ford the detector I'd been using and commandeered a laptop and started a scan.

'I wouldn't have thought you believed in ghosts' I heard Weir say

'I never used to, but then I heard about things called Wraiths that can suck the life out of you with their hands. What the hell is that?'

Teyla came into the control room. As usual she ignored me and I ignored her. I wondered if we ever had to work together could she act civil and professional.

'Dr Weir?' She said, her voice was soft and polite.

'I'll be with you in a moment Teyla. Do what you can' Weir said before turning to Teyla.

Teyla led Weir away. Very quickly the scan I started came up with nothing.

'The computerised scan hasn't pulled anything up. I'll go through by eye now' I said

'Yeah' McKay replied

Quite soon after that Weir came back and shared what had happened. That someone had seen a shadow, and that the Wraith projected them but Teyla couldn't sense any Wraith. I shivered slightly in nervousness.

Sheppard and Halling came in. Teyla went to comfort Halling and Sheppard came over to where McKay and I were searching through the database. Weir was stood watching.

'I've secured access to the Control Tower and living quarters' Sheppard reported

'Two more Athosians reported seeing a shadow' Weir informed him

'Now, I don't get that. That means the Wraith would be here' Sheppard said thoughtfully

'You don't think so?' Weir asked

'I don't think they want to scare us. When they decide to come, they're going to start blowing the crap out of this place with their ships' Sheppard said

'So what, the Athosians are just seeing things?' Weir asked, an eyebrow raised

'Well, like Teyla said, it's a scary place for them' Sheppard reasoned

'Not just for them' McKay said, his voice had a tone of nervousness.

I frowned, listening to the conversation. It occurred to me that everyone residing here now didn't consider this place home.

Teyla walked over, followed by Halling.

'Halling wishes to speak with Jinto' Teyla asked

'Yes of course' Weir said, nodding to me.

I went over to the controls and Halling followed me. I pushed in a button and activated the intercoms.

'Go on' I said

'Jinto. If you can hear me, I'm not angry. I just want to know that you are safe. So if you are lost or hurt, stay where you are. Make some noise if you can. We will find you'

Halling leaned his crutches on the control panel and put his hands together.

'Pere lume tempo e teri' He said

Sheppard asked quietly 'Is that Latin?'

'It's Ancient! "Fathers of light of the everlasting temple." Weir translated

'It is a prayer to the Ancestors' Teyla explained

Halling then raised his hands in a sort of surrendering way 'If you are angry that we have unrightfully inhabited your great city, we humbly apologise. We mean no harm. We will leave if it is your wish. But I will not go without my son'

The lights in the Control room all went out. McKay's eyes rolled into his head and then he slumped onto me. I lowered his dead weight as carefully as I could onto the floor. I looked up in shock at the others. Halling was looking upwards.

'I think we should leave addressing the Ancients alone then' Sheppard quipped

McKay groaned and sat up 'What the hell happened, why am I on the floor?'

'You fainted' Sheppard said, his voice amused

'What? No no no no, I never faint!' McKay said 'I must've had a faint moment; I haven't eaten for nearly ten hours now!'

'Yeah, you fainted' Sheppard teased 'C'mon, I'll escort you to the Infirmary'


	8. Chapter 7 The Entity

A short while later, Sheppard reported in with Weir. Apparently McKay had fainted and the reason as to why was still being debated.

I had to carry on searching through for any possible logs of power cuts or anything like what was occurring. I had to admit, it was a pretty good coincidence that the lights had gone off while Halling was 'speaking with the Ancients' but there surely had to be an explanation.

'Dr Weir, what time did the first power cut occur?' I asked

'12.05, why?' She asked

'What time was the second power cut?' I asked

'12.35' Grodin answered 'it's here in the power log'

'What's the time now?' I asked

'12.45' Weir answered 'What are you thinking?'

'I know it's not much to go on, but the first power cut and the second occurred exactly half an hour apart' I said

'You're thinking this could be a cycle?' Weir asked

'We'll have to see' I replied

'It's a start' Weir said

'I'll go and check the Naqahdah Generators' Grodin said

'Yeah, just check it's nothing to do with those' Weir said

There was another twenty minutes and the lights shut off again. Teyla and Weir exchanged a glance and she looked at her watch.

'1.05' She said 'Half an hour'

She turned to me 'You might just be onto something here Dr O'Neill'

'_Control room! Whoever's up there, deactivate the Generator that's closest!_' Sheppard's voice rang in the intercom

'Why?' Weir asked

'_Just do it!_' Sheppard said

Weir nodded to me and I flicked the necessary buttons. There was a pause before Weir radioed back.

'Well?' She asked

'_You know the shadows the Athosians reported, Grodin and I just saw one. And it had surrounded the Generator_' Sheppard reported

'What?' Weir asked

'It's gone now, I think you can switch it back on' Sheppard said

I switched it back on and all the lights came back on. We blinked blearily for a few seconds. Teyla suggested to Halling that they make their way back to Athosian living area. Sheppard and Grodin came back shortly afterwards.

'Didn't look like the phantoms the Wraith make you see but I could see how the Athosians would be confused' Sheppard reported

'What did it look like?' Weir asked

'It looked like a...' Sheppard held his hands up but then looked at Grodin with a frown.

'Darkness. It surrounded the naqahdah generator and started to grow, like it was feeding off the energy' Grodin reported

'When you shut it down, the whole ... whatever it was, it just went away' Sheppard said

I sat thoughtfully 'If this... entity is feeding off the generators, we could be in trouble here'

'We need to figure out what it is and what to do' Weir said

'We know it's attracted to energy' Grodin said

'Can't we shut the generators down?' Weir asked

'People give off heat energy though. It's in no comparison to the generators but if there's nothing else to go for...' I trailed off

'It could come after us' Weir finished for me

There was a pause before Weir seemed to straighten up.

'OK. We keep the power on. Grodin, figure out a way to detect it, and in the meantime, Major, establish a constant surveillance on all the generators. If one of them is targeted, we'll shut it down remotely and hopefully we can keep this... thing busy until we can figure out a way to get rid of it. O'Neill, new plan, search for anything to do with black entities in the database' Weir said

She activated the intercom 'Attention, everyone, this is Weir. For the time being, we need you all to remain in your quarters unless otherwise instructed. If you see anything out-'

'Hello? Can you hear me? Can anyone hear me?'

I nearly fell off my stool. Jinto's voice was on the intercom.

'Jinto!' Sheppard asked

'Major Sheppard?'

'Are you okay?' Weir asked

'I'm scared' Jinto answered

Immediately my eyes pricked with tears at the thought of him sat alone somewhere with the lights going on and off.

'Do you know where you are?' I asked

'No, I don't' Jinto answered

'Start at the beginning' Sheppard said

'I was in the hall outside my quarters'

Sheppard pulled my arm and I followed him with Weir following us. Halling had obviously heard what happened; the whole city could, because he and Teyla met us where Jinto had said he had started.

'Where did you go next?' Sheppard asked

'I can't remember' Jinto replied

'He's used to the forest, being able to see the stars' Teyla said

'It was a small room, with boxes from earth inside' Jinto said

'Sounds like a storage room' I replied

Sheppard spotted the doors at the end of the corridor and headed to them. He swiped the door panel. The doors opened but the tiny room was empty.

'No boxes' Sheppard replied

'They are with me' Jinto said

'What?' I asked

Sheppard frowned and stepped inside. A small panel opened in the wall and it began to glow with little dots all over the city. I stepped into the little room for a closer look.

'This isn't a closet. Jinto, when you went inside was there a glowing panel?' Sheppard asked

'Yes!'

'Did you touch it?' Sheppard asked

'Yes'

I began thinking to all the energy logs from the evening.

'Where?' Sheppard asked

'I don't remember' Jinto replied

I remembered Grodin pointing out an odd one to me earlier. I pointed to a little dot.

'There was a strange kind of energy reading from this area shortly before he disappeared' I said

Without hesitation Sheppard jabbed the area I pointed to and the doors behind us closed. They opened again and we looked out. Sheppard stuck his arm out to stop me from exiting and then raised his P-90.

'Ha, a transporter' I said quietly

'We'll name it later' Sheppard said with a grin

In front of us Jinto's head stuck out from behind a box, he then ran out to us.

'Major Sheppard! Marlene!' He cried

I knelt and opened my arms to him. He rushed in and clung on tight, he was trembling slightly. I squeezed him in what I hoped was a reassuring manner.

'Are you alright?' I asked

'Yes' Jinto answered

'Let's get you back to your Dad' I said

I looked up at Sheppard and he activated his radio.

'We've got Jinto, he's okay'

Sheppard looked around 'Any ideas as to what this place is?'

I looked around and frowned. It looked like a few labs we had come across. It was a bit smaller than the one we had commandeered.

'It looks like a research lab. We've come across a few of them' I answered

I got up but held Jinto's hand. He kept a tight grip. I went to the nearest console and activated it. It came up with a general database but I knew a bit of mindless prodding of a frightened child could access anything

'These consoles, generally access the central computer systems, so Jinto could have caused what we thought were malfunctions from here' I said

I looked down at Jinto 'I need to know exactly what you touched' I said

Jinto looked up at me with wide eyes. He pointed to a few buttons but nothing he had touched could actually do any harm. Around the room he pointed out a few things and one device I lingered over curiously.

Over the radios we heard Grodin inform Ford he was in the entities way. We paused to listen nervously. Ford then radioed and said a bulkhead door had closed in front of them. My stomach flipped nervously.

'What's going on?' Jinto asked

'Shush a second Jinto' I said softly

He nodded and his grip loosened on my hand slightly.

'_O'Neill?_' Weir asked

'We haven't done anything up here. I'm sure it's definitely the entity causing the malfunctions. Anything close to it could be causing random malfunctions' I answered

'_Lieutenant, double back and try the door on the east side of the hall_' Weir's voice came through

'_This door won't open either_' Ford's reply came

'_It's coming!_' another voice came through.

Sheppard looked at me.

'I don't know what to do!' I said

'_Ford, do you see a console?_' It was McKay

I sagged in relief

'_Yeah_'

'_Pull off the cover_'

There was a short pause

'_Now what?_' Ford asked

'_What do you see?_'

'_Three crystals_'

'_Take out the middle one and move the top one down_' McKay instructed

There was another pause. Jinto looked up at me, his large eyes questioning. I put my finger to my lips and he nodded.

'_Not working!_' Ford's voice came through

I got a sudden thought 'Ford, bridge the two crystals with the one you removed'

I said

'_Are you sure?_'

'No' I answered

There was a long pause then suddenly both Sheppard and I jumped as Ford suddenly screamed. I tugged out my radio and threw it away from me, closing my eyes tightly. Sheppard stared in shock.

'Come on' He said eventually

I picked my radio up but pocketed it. We stepped back into the Transporter. Halling and Teyla were still waiting there. Jinto released my hand and rushed to his father. Halling, with a slight grimace, knelt and enveloped his son in a massive hug.

Sheppard peered at me.

'You okay?' He asked

I looked at him but didn't dare open my mouth. I felt very sick at the thought that I hadn't acted quickly enough and now I didn't know what had happened to Ford. He stepped to me and hugged me.

I relaxed slightly but couldn't stop the slight choke that escaped my throat. Sheppard squeezed a bit tighter and held on for a few more seconds before letting go of me.

'Put your radio back in' He said 'McKay's trying to contact you'

I put my radio back on and activated it 'Yes Dr McKay'

XxXxX

While waiting for McKay to turn up I sat down against the wall. I realised how tired I felt and that I was still in my pyjamas. McKay came around the corner carrying both our laptops.

'Dr' I nodded

He looked me up and down 'Are you-'

'Yes I'm in my pyjamas' I grinned

'At least you can change your clothes' He muttered 'How does this work?'

'Door panel, swipe it' I answered

He did as I said and we both stepped in. The little panel opened and I touched the button Sheppard had touched and we came out in the lab.

'I'm most concerned about this'

I pointed out the little device. It was sat open and it looked like a black box of an aeroplane. McKay went over to it and pulled open a side panel. He plugged a few wires in and got to work.

I opened my laptop and started an electric scan on the black box and carried on my eye search of black entities. The face my scan wasn't coming up right away with nothing suggested to me that it would be able to find something.

The transporter activated and Weir and Sheppard stepped out.

'Apparently it's also an elevator' Sheppard said, a grin on his face

'Really?' McKay asked

'Yes, we can stop taking the stairs everywhere' Weir said, pleased

'How nice for you all'

Sheppard rolled his eyes 'What have you got?'

'Well believe it or not Jinto didn't touch anything of consequence, except for this' McKay said

My scan came back and I pulled up the files and quickly found what it had come up with.

'It must have had it's own power source like the er, Jumpers'

'What is it?' Sheppard asked

'It looks like it was supposed to be some kind of containment vessel' McKay said

'It was, and it was build specifically for the entity which the Ancients called the Shadow Creature' I said

'And Jinto released it?' Sheppard asked

'Well, it seems that way. As Dr O'Neill suggested, the entity's what's been causing most of our technical problems' McKay said

'The creature was captured for observation. The Ancients were researching ascension' I said

'Really?' Weir asked, a tone of amazement in her voice

'What exactly is ascension?' Sheppard asked

'Well at some point during their evolution the Ancients reached an advanced stage of being where they were able to rid themselves of their physical bodies and rise to a higher plane of existence, one in which they live as pure energy' Weir explained

Sheppard nodded, a sceptical look on his face.

'I know it sounds out there but this research indicates there was genetic or evolutionary tinkering to achieve it' I said 'It seems it was actually quite difficult to do'


	9. Chapter 8 The Solution

'A little gene therapy of their own?' Sheppard asked

'Sounds like it' I replied

We stood in silence for a bit.

'Is it intelligent?' Weir asked

'I've not had chance to go through all this, from what this is saying we can assume the entity is energy, it feeds on energy. The more it feeds, the bigger it'll get; the bigger it gets, the more charged it'll become and the more deadly it will be if someone else gets in the way' I answered

'So no?' Sheppard asked

'One second' I held up my hand as I speed read the next part 'According to this it does have some level of free thinking but if you're thinking about trying to talk to it, you'd have more luck with a rock. This thing is going to suck the power out of our generators and then we'll be targets'

'Alright, what do we do about it?' Weir asked

'The entity's been trapped in here since before the Ancients abandoned the city' I replied

'I know I'd be pissed' John said with a grimace

'And hungry' McKay said

I flicked further through the research 'This device was designed to attract it, capture it, and hold it for observation. There's still a chance we may be able to get it back inside. We're just going need a little more time to figure out how'

'Okay' Weir replied

She looked at me and frowned. She beckoned me away and I followed.

'Are you alright?' Weir asked 'You look very pale'

'I'm fine, just still a little shook up about Ford, is he alright?' I asked

'He's in the Infirmary. He'll live, I think he'll be off-duty for a week or so' Weir replied 'Go back to the control room, it's safer there'

I nodded and went to the transporter. The door closed and I leaned back against the wall and pressed the button to go back to the gate room. I climbed the stairs to the control room and plonked myself down beside Grodin.

'How's it going?' I asked

'You look like you should be in bed' He replied

'I'm fine, gonna have to get used to all nighters I think' I replied 'What time is it anyway?'

Grodin looked at his watch 'Nearly three am'

I groaned and put my head down on the desk 'I hope they don't expect me to get up at the nor- what?'

Grodin had nudged me and I looked up at the laptop screen. The entity had broken off its regular cycle and was headed in a different direction. Grodin and I looked at each other before I activated my radio.

'Dr Weir this is Dr O'Neill, the entity just broke its regular pattern and it now headed in a new direction around the generators' I reported 'It seems this thing is slightly smarter than we first thought'

'_Okay, I'll tell McKay_' she replied

'We're gonna have to think of something and quick' I said to Grodin

'What if this thing looses interest in the generators and goes for a new target?' Grodin asked

'I don't know, if that happens I don't know what we can do' I replied

Grodin nodded. We listened into the new plan formulated by Dr McKay and Sheppard and waited for Weir to return. When she came back she was carrying a large candle.

'So the personal shield just came off McKay' She reported, a hint of annoyance in her voice

'What?' I asked

'I asked him if it was better he press the button to activate the device to capture the entity and it just fell off him'

'So it came off by itself?' Grodin asked

'It just stopped working. He even tried it on Sheppard' Weir replied

'It wouldn't work on Sheppard' Grodin said

'What?' Wier asked

'Didn't McKay tell you?' I asked 'The shield device imprints on its first wearer, it won't work on anyone else'

McKay walked into the room stuffing food into his face. Grodin and I exchanged a glance but didn't comment. I could see from the corner of my eye as he got more agitated though. I had to admit, McKay was getting harder to cope with by the second.

'We ready?' He asked through a mouthful of food

'You do realise that when we shut everything down we won't be able to track it?' Grodin asked

'We have security personnel around the living quarters. If it heads that way at least there's some warning' Weir replied

She leaned down and lit the candle. Grodin and I looked at her questioningly. She nodded at us.

'Teyla told the Athosian children that lighting a candle would keep them safe' she said

'So why are you doing it?' McKay asked, his face still full of food

I gritted my teeth

'It's going to get dark in here' Weir replied

'Oh well' McKay pulled a big flash light out from under his arm and lit it. Weir shook her head and looked away. I finally snapped.

'You know Dr McKay you could show a tiny little bit of consider-'

Weir cut me off 'Okay Major, go ahead'

She turned to Grodin 'Shut the power down now'

Grodin glanced at the lit candle before turning back to the control panel.

'Turning off power'

Everything went dark. McKay's flashlight easily outdid the light from the candle but I focused on it's comforting light. We could hear Sheppard breathing down his radio, his breathing picked up a bit.

'It's coming' He said

I clenched my hand and tried to tune out McKay's incessant chewing. Sheppard had grown on me as a friend and colleague. I ran through my head the brief talk Dad had given me a few days before the expedition , about how it's too common to lose good people and I wondered if we were about to lose Sheppard.

'_I think you're gonna need a bigger boat_' He said nervously

'Size doesn't matter' I said back in a small voice

I heard him chuckle before saying 'That's a myth'

'It'll fit. The device traps the creature in subspace. You just need to make sure it gets all the way inside the containment vessel' McKay said

There was brief pause before Sheppard said '_Alright, come on then_'

There was a longer pause this time and we were all watching the energy reading, waiting for it to disappear. It paused around the containment vessel before shooting away up the corridor.

'_Son of a bitch!_' Sheppard swore

'What happened?' Weir asked

'_Damned thing took one look and went away. It's a lot smarter than we thought_' Sheppard answered. I could practically hear him seething.

Weir rubbed her face tiredly 'Come back, we'll figure something out, just move carefully'

I got up and went to the window. The sun was rising, illuminating the sky in a gorgeous burnt orange and red. I sighed and wandered around. Teyla came up the stairs and walked past me without even bothering with her usual look.

Sheppard appeared eventually and he stood in front of me. An awkward air seemed to descend suddenly and I frowned.

'Yeah er, hi' He said lamely

'Hi' I said back with a smile

'Come on, is Dr Weir going spare yet?' He asked

'She looks very tired and stressed' I answered

Just as we re-entered the control room the light flickered back on. He looked up and looked at me before looking at McKay.

'What now?' he asked

Weir was looking at a screen 'It's headed this way'

'Because you turned the power back on!' McKay said exasperatedly

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Teyla, who was stood on the balcony looking at the Stargate, turn towards us and approach us.

'Do you think it wants to be here?' She asked

'What do you mean?' Sheppard asked

'Well it's been here for thousands of years, trapped and alone' She said

'It's not alone anymore' Weir pointed out

'It doesn't think on that level, it thinks about eating and thats it' McKay snapped

Teyla pulled a hurt face at the scorn and I bit my tongue, she'd done nothing to merit my defence although McKay was very hypocritical about eating. Sheppard however, did not bite his tongue.

'You're one to talk!' He scoffed

McKay opened his mouth to reply but Teyla cut him off, having apparently recovered from the brash treatment.

'If we stay it will kill us' She said

'Not unless we kill it first' Sheppard said, his face determined but furrowed into a frown.

'I don't think we can just kill it. It's made of energy, you can't just shoot it' I said gently

'Then either we must go or it must' Teyla said, her eyes compelling.

She turned towards the Stargate, a plan began to form in my mind although I had no idea on how we might execute it and I think Teyla was getting the general gist of it.

'If we open the Stargate-' She started

'It will draw the entity, I can't seem to express enough that if we turn things on it will draw it to us' McKay snapped

'I think that's the general idea in this case. Maybe it will accidently be taken somewhere else' I said

Teyla nodded and McKay stopped thoughtfully. After a few minutes we began to formulate a plan. We selected an uninhabited planet we could send it to and how we could draw it to the gate.

Two burly looking soldiers carried a spare naqahdah generator in and I carried it down to the MALP in the gateroom where Sheppard and McKay were waiting. I handed the box to Sheppard who opened it up and took the Generator out. McKay began to prepare it.

'This is a really bad idea' He said uneasily

'You said that already' I pointed out even though I silently agreed.

'Well it's worth saying again' He replied

I was tense and I felt sick, Teyla shouting down to warn us it was coming didn't help either.

'An open Stargate is a huge power source. This thing is smart. It knew enough not to get trapped in the Ancient containment vessel again. How much do you think it's going to follow a naqahdah generator through a wormhole?'' McKay asked

'You got any better ideas?' Sheppard asked

McKay didn't reply as he put the generator back in the box with a frown. We both knew there wasn't any other option no matter how crazy it seemed. I watched as he walked away, leaving Sheppard and I alone next to the MALP.

Again, the same awkwardness came over us. I looked away, towards the gate and wondered if I'd made the right choice coming here.

'You miss home' Sheppard said, it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

I looked back at him and fiddled with a lock of my hair 'Don't you?'

Sheppard shrugged 'I didn't leave that much behind'

'Hey O'Neill, unless you want to be fried I'd get up here!' McKay shouted down over the balcony.

Suddenly desperate I lunged at Sheppard and hugged him. He tensed before winding his arms around me, clinging equally tight.

'Get out of here, as soon as you push the button' I said, before releasing him and walking away.

Weir eyed me curiously before looking back to the scene 'Dail it' She said softly

Down in the gate room the gate rushed into life. I sat behind my console, biting my lip as the entity appeared in the doorways to the gate room. Sheppard pushed a button on the MALP and pelted it to the stairs. He stood by me as we watched the entity fill the gate room and envelope the MALP just before it made it through the gate. There was a pause as it got bigger and bigger and didn't seem to be going away. I realised then that we'd made a very big mistake and it was now possibly feeding off the Stargate.

'It's not going anywhere' Weir shouted, her face pale

'I can't see if the MALP got through!' McKay shouted back

'The entity could have drained the battery' Grodin shouted

'It could be feeding off the Stargate' I yelled

'Shut it down!' Weir screeched

McKay and I scrabbled for the buttons, punching them again and again as the gate wouldn't shut down. I looked up desperately.

'It's not working' McKay shouted

'The console must be dead' Grodin said loudly and he came and pressed a few buttons himself

'There must be something we can do' Weir demanded

'We don't know if the MALP is still down there. The Stargate could just be a more appealing energy source' I said

'It's possible the entity could still go through the gate even if it's depleted the Naqahdah generator' Grodin argued

'Or it could carry on feeding of the gate's energy' I said

The entity bubbled around in the gateroom and all we could do was stand and watch it. Sheppard took a step away from me and I looked around. McKay was stood right at the top of the stairs, just above where the entity reached. I realised what he was going to do in that moment.

'McKay?' Sheppard asked

He took a step into the entity and I ran towards him. Sheppard grabbed hold of my waist and stopped me rushing down after him.

'Rodney!' I screeched

He'd disappeared completely from sight now. The entity continued to roll around in the gateroom like water until it suddenly rushed through the gate. Eventually it left the MALP in the middle of the room, inches from the gate and McKay was laid flat on his back.

'McKay' Sheppard dumped me down and took off down the stairs himself.

I followed with Weir, Grodin and Teyla who I'd completely forgotten about up until now. Sheppard had hold of McKay's wrist and I realised the device must've stopped working. I knelt next to him and lifted it off his chest.

'McKay?' Weir asked

'The entity must have drained the power' Grodin said

'Medical team to the gate room' Sheppard said, tapping his radio

'He's not burned' Weir said

'He's breathing' I commented

'McKay?' Weir asked

Just as she spoke, McKay started to come around.

'What happened?' He asked blearily

'You did it!' Weir said, with a big smile

'I did?' He asked, his face screwed up in confusion

'It went through the Gate' I said

'You must have passed out' Sheppard said with satisfaction to McKay

'Oh, thank you for not saying the other thing' McKay said

I laughed as Sheppard stood up with a smile. He turned to Teyla and gestured to McKay.

'That was a Hail Mary!' He said

The medical team rushed in and escourted McKay to the Infirmary for the second time that day. I grabbed Grodin's wrist and my eyes widened at the time. Five thirty in the morning. I groaned loudly and Weir looked at her own watch with a smile.

She patted me on the shoulder 'Go on and get some sleep. I think we all need a good day's rest'

XxXxX

_So I'm sorry for the huge delay in posting! I've been very busy these past few weeks and unfourtunately not had much time to write and post. Not to mention I had a previous story I also wanted to finish._

_Now it's slowing down and my other story is finished I'll be able to concentrate more on this. If you're Harry Potter fans, please check out my other story! _


	10. Chapter 9 Thirty Eight Minutes

It took a good week for us all to recuperate and establish a sleeping pattern and routine again. In that time I managed to organise laptops for database use and develop an interesting social life.

One of the junior scientists called Dana Park seemed to have developed a small attachment to me. She was extremely clever but the only thing holding her back was that she said very dippy things sometimes but she became a very good friend. With long blonde hair, olive green eyes and a Texan accent, she was very nice to have around. We jogged, ate and chatted together and established a very nice routine.

Sheppard would often drop in the lab and distract me like the day he almost dipped his fingers in Nitrus Oxide. He knew what it was and I knew what it was but I wasn't sure if he wouldn't actually do something as stupid as that. Other times he seemed to know when I was too busy for lunch and he would drop some in for me. The only problem with this close friendship is rumours started that there was more going on behind the scenes. Luckily I could deny these things unblushingly.

Sheppard had started to take his team out on exploration missions and they'd started with the known addresses in the database and even then it was tricky to know if they were still that way. After all, the database was nearly ten thousand years out of date. Teyla and the Athosians came in very handy for that, giving advice as to where and what planets were best to start.

But one day Weir decided it was time to check out a Wraith planet to try and gain some information. They planned a special mission with Sheppard's team and two other marine's to accompany them. Even though Teyla assured us it was abandoned and non-inhabited, I was still very worried.

'You don't know what's out there' I said as we walked together

'That's why we're going, besides Teyla says it's alright' Sheppard said

'That's why I'm concerned' I shot back

He stopped and stood in front of me in the corridor 'You still don't trust her'

'She doesn't trust me either you know. It's not me who gives her the dirty looks' I snapped

'I thought you said it didn't bother you?' Sheppard stated

'It doesn't, but it's irritating. How am I supposed to work when she's in the lab with you and McKay and she keeps glaring at me through my own office window? I mean geeze!' I shouted

'Look calm down. I'll talk to her if you want?' Sheppard offered

'No, don't bother. It's only going to be a problem if I have to work with her. I just can't understand what I did wrong' I frowned

'Look, this isn't about Teyla anyway, you're just picking on her now' John replied calmly

I stopped and glared at him. Sheppard stood in front of me for a few seconds before gripping my shoulders.

'I have to go. Look, how about we steal some chocolate and find a movie and you can just relax with a beer at my place? No scouring the database for one night' John asked

I smiled and shook my head 'It's not that simple Shep-'

'John' Sheppard cut across me

'Joooohhhn' I dragged his name out unnecessarily and in what I hoped was an annoying fashion but he just smirked.

'Keep up with that and you will definitely have to come to mine tonight' He grinned

'Oh shut up you big flirt' I smacked his arm lightly 'Look we'll see how it goes okay?'

'Fine by me. See you later Marley' He said

I watched him walk off down the corridor before going into my lab. Dana was waiting for me with a laptop. She smiled when I approached.

'Listen, McKay wants us to check out that lap with all the ancient everywhere to see what it's for' She said, handing me the laptop

'Oh yeah, the one in the lower levels?'I asked

'Thats the one' She grinned

I picked up my notepad and glasses before we walked off down the corridor. She chattered along the way, filling the silence easily enough so I didn't have to communicate too much.

'You seem tense, are you alright?' Dana asked suddenly

'What? No I'm fine!' I replied, a little too shrilly

We stepped in the transporter and were in the lower levels. Dana continued pestering.

'It's the Teyla thing again isn't it? That girl had better watch who she glares at, I've half a mind to-'

'No! It's not Teyla, I haven't been around her for a few days now anyway' I said

'Then what is it? Something's bothering you because you're normally more talkative than this' Dana insisted

She looked at me and we continued to walk.

'It's that mission Sheppard's on today isn't it, the one to the Wraith planet?' Dana accused

'No, I-'

'Yes it is! Don't you lie to me Marlene O'Neill' Dana said 'You worried about Shep?'

'I always worry, not to mention Aiden too. Both of them are reckless' I said as we walked into the lap

'They'll be fine, they have McKay' Dana said

'Have you seen McKay hold a gun?' I asked

Dana laughed but didn't comment. They walked into the lab and looked around. All down one wall, there was Ancient etched in a chalky like substance. Dana sat down in front of it with a laptop and I got to work jotting it down with my notepad and stuck my glasses onto my face.

Although my ancient was good it still wasn't as fluent as I'd like it to be. About an hour later, both of us had managed to get most of the Ancient down on paper or laptop.

'_This is Dr Weir; can Dr's O'Neill, Kavanagh, Zelenka and Grodin please come to the conference room please? As well as Doctor Beckett_'

'I have to go Dana, I'll radio you in a bit' I said

It took me a good ten minutes to get to the conference room and I walked in everyone else was waiting. I nodded to Weir and was about to sit down next to Beckett when Kavanagh spoke up.

'Why did it take so long to get here? We all have better things to do than wait around for you to arrive' He spat

I blinked in surprise. I had avoided Kavanagh since the first day when he had flirted to the point of me threatening sexual harassment disciplinaries to make him back off. That had been far different to the hostility he had thrown at me here. Beckett and Weir both opened their mouths to defend me but I cut them off.

'Excuse me for my lateness but unlike everyone else, I've been in the basement so if you'll excuse me I'd rather not have my head bitten off for it taking so long to get back up' I answered coolly.

Kavanagh's face went red but he didn't say anything. Weir eyed him before getting on with the briefing.

It turned out Sheppard's team had been ambushed and one of the drive pods had possibly been damaged in the flight away. It was now wedging the Jumper halfway through the Stargate.

I stood up and went to a laptop straight away. Grodin sat next to me and we went over schematics for Jumpers, trying to find a way for McKay to be able to shut the drive pod manually from the back of the Jumper.

We left Kavanagh to himself. Weir roped in a few more scientists and soon the conference room was buzzing with activity. Weir left to brief other members of staff and then came back.

By that time Grodin and I had gotten a print out for wiring in the Jumpers and we were all poring over them. Beckett was watching us and hanging back.

'Alright, you've all been briefed. We have less than half an hour' She looked around 'Where's Zelenka?'

'He's running simulations in Jumper two' I reported

'Thats good' Weir said

'It would be if we had more time' Kavanagh snapped

My mouth dropped open and Grodin was wearing a snarl similar to the one he had worn the previous week when McKay had been irritating. Weir smiled coolly.

'Lets not admit defeat just yet Dr. There are six people on that ship' She said

Kavanagh looked like he was going to carry on arguing but Beckett interrupted him.

'I'm just a medical doctor here, so forgive me if this is a stupid question. If they just stepped through the event horizon, wouldn't they come through the front part of the ship when the Gate shuts down?' He asked

'The front half won't rematerialise on this side' Kavanagh scoffed

Peter shook his head and looked at Beckett 'The Stargate transmits matter in discrete units. The front half of the ship cannot rematerialise until the whole ship has crossed into the event horizon. The Stargate is essentially waiting for the contiguous components - meaning the Jumper and everyone inside - to enter completely before it can transport them'

Beckett looked at him blankly and then looked between me and Weir. Weir looked at me. If the situation hadn't been so serious I'd have laughed.

'Okay without the technical jargon, he means the gate only sends things through in one peice' I said

'Right, sorry' Beckett said

'I think we can let you off . You are the doc after all' I said before turning back to the charts.

'Unfortunately, the outgoing Stargate won't transmit the matter stream until the demolecularisation is complete. When it shuts down, the entire forward section, along with the men inside, will cease to exist' Grodin said seriously

'What about the others?' Weir asked

'The ship will be severed instantaneously along the event horizon. They'll be exposed to hard vacuum, in twenty nine minutes' Grodin said

A thought struck me 'What if they closed the bulkhead door?' I asked

All the scientist immediately stopped and looked up at me.

'Think about it, if they close the bulkhead door it will stay pressurised' I said

'Become like a lifeboat?' Weir asked

'It would leak air like a sieve' Grodin pointed out

'It could buy enough time to send another Jumper' I argued

'And do what!' Kavanagh half shouted at me

'Figure it out' Weir snapped, she turned to me 'Contact Jumper one and advise them'

I nodded and went to go and contact the Jumper. I looked back at Grodin who shrugged and went back to the charts, Kavanagh looked daggers at me and stood with his arms folded like a child. I turned away to go and contact the Jumper.

I pressed the radio buttons and the connection was established.

'Jumper one, this is Atlantis' I said

'_Still here_' Came McKay's answer

'We recommend closing the bulkhead door' I said

'_Oh good thinking!_' There was pause '_What else_'

'I'm sorry McKay, we're still working on it' I said

'_Oh thanks for calling!_' Came the sarcastic reply

'McKay, please' I said 'How's Sheppard?'

'_He's still with us_' McKay answered, slightly more gently this time

'Okay. We'll get back to you. Atlantis out'

I severed the connection and wobbled back to the conference room. Grodin looked at me sympathetically and we carried on working. I began to think Zalenka's idea of simulations was the best but I refused to give up on the people in the Jumper.

When Beckett was called to talk to Sheppard, I had to resist following him. Pained I went back to my work. Grodin went to go and check on Zalenka, that left me with Kavanagh and a few other scientists.

'Why are you bothered about that marine?' He snapped suddenly

'Speak to me like that and you will get nowhere' I hissed back

I heard a deep and pained sigh 'I apologise. Why are you bothered about that marine Marlene?' Kavanagh's voice was sickly sweet and fake I had to hold back a scoff of amusement.

'It's Dr O'Neill to you Kavanagh. And for the record he's a pilot, not a marine' I answered

'Oh for the love of- why can't you give me a straight answer?' He went back to shouting

'Because we're supposed to be figuring out a way to save those people' I snarled

There was a pause 'The Jumper must be damaged'

'I'm aware of that'

'The systems are too advanced for pilot error'

'I know'

'You do realise that this could lead to catastrophic failure when the gate shuts down, or even before then' Kavanagh asked

'I know' I answered tensly

'We should raise the shield' Kavanagh said

I looked at him 'If you activate the shield they'll die if they come through suddenly'

'Hey, we can always lower it if we figure this out'

'They may not have time!' I shouted

'If they don't it could destroy this facility!' Kavanagh thundered

'Well I-' I started to screech before Weir walked in with Grodin and cut me off

'Youre supposed to be working on solutions' She said

I was about to defend myself when Kavanagh quickly interrupted 'We think the Jumper must be damaged for this to have happened in the first place. Ancient systems are too advanced for this to have been pilot error'

'So?' Weir asked nastily

'So depending on the extent of the damage, we can't rule out a catastrophic power feedback in the drive manifold' Kavanagh puffed out his chest importantly

'Without the technobabble if you please' Weir snapped

'Dr Kavanagh was pointing out that there is a very slim chance that with the cockpit controls interrupted and the pod damaged, the main drive could overload. Explode if you will' I said

'Especially if McKay starts nosing around inside the control conduits to retract the drive pod manually. And he will. I know I would' Kavanagh said

'Zalenka is working on simulations, I just came from there' Weir said, trying a reassuring manner.

Kavanagh didn't fall for it 'If there is a catastrophic overload, the full force of the explosion will break up the Jumper, follow the burning fragments through the Stargate like a bomb'

Weir looked at him thoughtfully before turning her attention to me 'And you think the risk of this happening is minimal?'

'Yes Dr Weir' I answered

'And you all agree?' She asked around

I'd forgotten everyone else was there. Grodin had even arrived back at some point during the argument. Everyone was nodding. Weir nodded back.

'Then we take the chance'

Kavanagh sighed and crossed his arms stroppily 'I thought it was important to point out the risk'

'Fine, you did! Now please, worry a little more about their lives and less about your own ass' She paused to look at her watch before glaring back up at him 'Twenty three minutes'

Kavanagh rolled his eyes and looked back down at the charts. I snatched them from him and took them over to Grodin, glaring as I went.

'Oh real mature O'Neill!' He shouted at my back

'Don't you shout at her!' Grodin snarled 'You've had no interest in helping from the start'

Kavanagh looked between us before storming from the room. I put my hand on Grodin's shoulder.

'Thank you' I said gratefully

'He's been giving you trouble from day one, I'm only glad to help' Grodin smiled

I smiled and we got back to work. Not long after we received a message from Zalenka that he thought he'd found something. We gathered in the control room to witness what was happening.

'_Transmitting now_' Zalenka reported over the radio

I went to the nearest console. With McKay trapped in the actual Jumper and Zalenka down in the Jumper Bay, I realised I was the next one in charge.

'We're recieving' I reported to Weir as the information began to upload

'Jumper one, this is Weir. Dr Zalenka's come up with something' She reported

'_Zalenka, why can I never remember that name_?' McKay asked

'He's positively identified the control systems on the port side of the Jumper that retract the drive pod. I'm relaying the schematics to your data pad' I said

'Thank you. Now we're getting somewhere!' McKay said excitedly

'What?' Ford's voice came over the radio

'Zelenka's identified the control pathways to the engine pod, which means that's increasing my chances of fixing this from one in a million to one in a thousand, but, uh ... it's something. Elizabeth?' McKay asked uncertainly

'Yes?' She asked sweetly

'I'll only have seven to nine seconds to warn you if I accidentally trigger a catastrophic overload, so ... if I tell you to raise the shield, don't hesitate' He warned

Weir and I connected eyes for a second.

'We're aware of the risk Rodney' I said softly

'Do your best' Weir said equally as gently

There was a noise as Ford activated his radio '_Right, we have everything here. Starting with Iodine_'

I went back in the conference room to wait with Grodin and try and come up with something.

There was a pause and a slight trilling before it went silent again.

'_Scratch iodine_' Came Ford's voice

'_What else have you got there?_' Beckett asked

'_Yeah what else have you got there?_' McKay asked '_Any food?_'

'_Are you kidding?_'

'_I have less than twenty minutes to save everyone on board and I'm teetering on the brink of a hypoglycaemic reaction so I would say...no!_'

There was a rustle and the sound of someone eating '_Thank you_'

'Ew McKay! Did no one tell you to not speak with your mouthful?' I asked, grossed out

'_Here_' Came Teyla's soft voice

'_We're trying alcohol now_' Ford reported

'_Save some for me_' Came Sheppard's voice and I sagged in relief and fear.

His voice sounded strained and weak and I realised that Sheppard might not even make the twenty minutes that was left.

'_Wrong kind sir_' Ford said after a chuckle

'_What's the good of that_' Sheppard asked sarcastically

There was a pause, more trilling and then it went silent again.

'_Not much sir...No reaction to alcohol_' Ford reported

There was a rustling over the radio.

'_Did the doctor not say to pour salt on the creature?_' Teyla asked

'_I think that was a metaphor_' There was a pause '_But yeah...try everything!_'

There was a pause

'_Water. Give me water_' Ford asked

There was barely even a pause this time before Ford's panicked voice came over the radio

'_Sir? Sir. Are you alright? Sir? Major!_'

Then the most awful sound I've ever heard aside from Ford screaming over the radio the other week. Sheppard began to scream in agony. I jumped when it started and did the same thing as I did last time. I pulled my radio out.

About ten minutes later Weir put her head around the door.

'Where is your radio?' She asked

I looked at her guiltily 'I took it out'

'Oh, come quick. Sheppard wants you' She said

'Me?' I asked

'Yes you'

I got up and walked to her. Weir took my hand gently and led me through. I was surprised by the contact but I let her lead me into the control room.

'She's here John' Weir called out

'_Marley_?'

'Yes?' I asked

'_I just want to say something while I can_-'

I realized he was trying to say good bye to me or something. I couldn't allow it, I wouldn't allow it'

'Don't do this John. You're gonna get through this' I said, my voice rising shrilly

There was a pause '_If I was, he wouldn't have let me go_'

'What? Who wouldn't have let you go?' I asked

'_The wraith_'

He went into a story. He told me how the bug had come to be attached to him and then that a wraith guard had found him and just walked away and left him there.

'_I guess he saw me as good as dead, he just walked away so_-' The sound of him clearing his throat came through the radio '_what I wanted to say was_-'

'Stop it! Don't do this. Please John, tell me when you get back if it's that important!'

'_I need to say it now!_'

I closed my eyes and I realised Weir was still holding my hand. She was squeezing my hand reassuringly.

'I'm listening' I replied, my voice cracking slightly.

Ford interrupted '_We should send him through the event horizon. If Doctor McKay figures it out in time, we can fix the major up on the other side. If he doesn't, we're all dead anyway_'

'_No pressure!_' McKay's voice shouted in a high pitched fashion

'John would be in suspended animation for the rest of the time' I said

'_We can't risk that!_' Beckett said sternly

'_Why not?_' Ford argued

'_If the creature reacted that violently to a few drops of water, who knows how it will react to gate travel_' Beckett said

'Are you telling me Major Sheppard can't come through the gate with that thing still on him?' Weir asked incredulously

'_Hit me with the defibrillator_' Sheppard said suddenly

There was a long pause as Weir and I started at each other. Beckett exhaled.

'_You might be onto something there Major_' He said

'No...no! You said that might kill him' Ford said

'_Thats the idea_' Sheppard replied

'Am I missing something?' I asked loudly

'_I don't understand_' Teyla said

For once I had to agree with her.

'_Teyla, you said this creature is like a Wraith_'

'_Yes_'

'_Then how do you think it would react if, god forbid, Major Sheppard were to die right now?_'

There was long pause '_It would stop feeding_'

Teyla sounded just as distressed as I felt. I began to shake and Weir pushed me down into a stool.

'How is this an idea?' She asked

'_We're suggesting that we fool the creature into thinking its prey is dead by stopping the major's heart. If I'm right, it should let him go_' Beckett said

'_When the thing lets go, we give him another jolt_' Ford said, catching on

'_You can give it a try_' Beckett said nervously

'If his heart doesn't restart, put him through the event horizon' I said suddenly

'_What?_' Everyone asked

'He'll be safe in there' I assured them

'Are you sure you want to do this John?' Weir asked

'_I want this damn thing off me!_' Sheppard said

'_Be prepared for a Code Blue in the Jumper Bay. Lieutenant Ford, do you know how to do this?_' Beckett asked

'_Yes, sir_' There was a pause in which we could hear rustling about '_Cut his shirt open_'

'_What?_' Teyla asked, sounding bemused

'_Cut his shirt open!_' Ford ordered

'_Charging to two hundred. Move his tags_'

'_What?_' Teyla asked again

'_Move his chains to the side_'

'_Place the lubrication right on the paddles_' Beckett said

'_Ready to go_' I could hear the machine beeping in the back ground

'_Once the bug falls off, I'm going to have to kill it. I'll wait for it to charge up again and I'll give him another jolt. McKay, if we can't restart his heart on the first time, I'm going to need that bulkhead door open again_' Ford said, hearing him take charge properly was a relief

'_Done_' McKay said clearly

'_One of us is going to have to get him through_'

'_I will_' Teyla said

There was another pause.

'_Do it!_' Sheppard shouted suddenly, his voice the strongest I'd heard it

There was a strange noise. Sheppard grunted and then another pause.

'_No pulse_' Ford reported

My eyes filled with tears and I choked back a sob. Weir squeezed my hand harder and this time I squeezed back.

There was a frantic trilling noise and the sound of Teyla tugging.

'_It won't come off!_' She said fearfully


	11. Chapter 10 What Did You Want To Tell Me?

'_Settle, it may take a moment_' Beckett said

There was another long pause. Weir looked on anxiously and I was rooted to the spot, unable to move or speak I was in that much shock.

'Lieutenant?' Weir asked

There was another pause and suddenly the sound of gunfire. I jumped violently and felt the urge to be sick. I swallowed and bit my lip. Another pause.

'_Nothing?_' Teyla asked

'_Nothing, let's get him through_' Ford said

There was lots of rustling and a bit of grunting before anything else was said

'_Got him?_' Ford asked

'_Got him_' Teyla said

There was a shuffling noise

'_This is Lieutenant Ford. The creature's successfully been removed from Major Sheppard, but we were unable to revive him. Both he and Teyla are now on the other side of the event horizon_'

'Thank you Lieutenant. McKay, seven minutes' Weir said

I stood up and went back into the conference room. We worked through a few scenarios, argued some more and got back to work. Weir came in and I looked up at her.

'Time?' She asked

'Two minutes twenty seconds' I replied

Weir touched her radio 'Rodney we're down to two minutes!' She said

'_I know the time! I've still got over two dozen circuits I haven't tried!_' McKay's frantic voice came through the radio

'Don't be so methodical, just pick one at random!' Weir said

'_If I do that I run the risk of attempting the same combination twice_' McKay replied

'Just try!' Weir argued

'_I'm telling you there's no way I can-wait!_'

There was a long pause and I touched my radio 'What?'

'_I think I did it! I did! The drive pods have retracted!_'

Weir and I looked at each other and we ran to the control room. Most of the technicians were stood out on the balcony to look. Weir went in the only gap and I went to stand on the steps. Nothing came through the gate and they should've shown up by now, even at walking speed.

'Why haven't you shown up?' Weir asked

'_She's right, we aren't moving_' Ford's voice said

'_It's inertia. The drive shut down before we went through the Stargate. We've shed all our forward momentum_'

Weir made a noise of despair and the noise of someone throwing themselves around came through the radio. I stood thinking, wondering what could give them some forwards thrust, just enough to push them through the gate.

'_What are we going to do?_' Ford asked despairingly

I remembered back to the other day when Dana had accidentally blown the door out of the jumper and the force it went with. I remembered McKay grilling her and saying she was lucky it didn't hit anyone. I touched my radio trembling with excitement.

'Wait! Blow the rear hatch out! That should make enough momentum to push you through' I said

'_Yes yes yes, that could do it! But the only mechanism to blow the door out is back there_'

'_You go through, I'll do it_' Ford said

'_No, no. You'll get blown out into space!_' McKay said loudly

'_No, no. There isn't time to argue_' Ford replied

'_Make sure you hold onto something!_'

'_Go!_'

'Thirty seconds!' I shouted through the radio

A few seconds later the Jumper slid slowly through the gate and began to rise into the Jumper bay. The Athosians gathered on the steps all stood up and cheered. I screamed along with them, Jinto ran to me and threw himself into my arms.

'You did it!' He shouted, wrapping his arms around my neck

'Oh you'd never believe the inspiration!' I said back

'Marlene, come on' Weir shouted me, she was clearly off to the jumper bay.

We ran there, Ford was being carried out on a gurney, an oxygen mask on his face. They stopped carrying him when he reached out and grabbed my hand as we went past. I stopped as he pulled the mask off his face.

'Thanks' He wheezed before putting the mask back on and being carried away.

I went to the Jumper, Weir was stood next to McKay who looked pale and shakey. The cockpit came into view and Sheppard was lying on the floor, Beckett was shocking him with the defibrillator. The sight of his body arching from the shock was enough to make my knees wobble.

I sat inside the jumper and took a few deep breaths before looking up at Weir, who put her hand on my shoulder. There were three beeps from the monitor before it flatlined again.

'Keep pumping air into him!' Beckett said

Then came the best sound I'd ever heard. A heartbeat beeped through the monitor.

'We've got a pulse!' Beckett said happily

I looked up. Beckett had a stethoscope to Sheppard's chest. The medic was still pumping air through the bag.

'Getting stronger!' Beckett said

The medic stopped pumping air and took the bag away. Sheppard took a few breaths on his own before settling into a steady rhythm.

'He's going to be okay' Beckett said

Weir sank onto the bench next to me and we gripped hands. McKay sighed in relief and sagged against the wall. The medics prepped Sheppard to move him the Infirmary and Beckett came into the back of the jumper.

'I'll need to stitch him up and keep him in for a few days but he should be fine' Beckett said

I stood up and left the jumper. I helped clear up the conference room and the office Zalenka and I shared, before packing up and heading to my room. I showered and dried my hair before my radio buzzed on my desk.

'Dr O'Neill' I said

'_Sheppards awake_' McKay's voice said

'He is?' I asked in relief

'_Yeah, he says can you bring him some food_' McKay said

I laughed 'Tell him I'll be there shortly'

I practically ran to the mess hall and picked up a sandwich before heading off to the Infirmary. I walked in to find Sheppard sat up in bed, with the biggest bandage ever wrapped around him neck. He smiled at me and I went over.

I dropped his sandwich into his lap and sat down beside him. He looked at me happily before unwrapping his sandwich and taking a massive bite.

'I'm always glad to see you Marley, but food makes it even better' He said with his mouth full

I shook my head 'I'm usually glad to see you Shep, but seeing you alive is best' I replied

'Oh yeah, sorry about that' He said, a guilty look on his face

'I don't think you can apologise for accidents John' I said

I waited until he'd finished his sandwich before speaking up again.

'In the Jumper, before they shocked you' I started

'Yeah?' He asked

'What did you want to tell me?' I asked

'Oh that. Nothing important, why?' He said

'Just curious, that's all' I shrugged

I wrapped one hand around his and looked him right in the eye. He looked down at our hands before looking at me. I smiled.

'That was scary' I breathed

'You're telling me. As soon as I'm better, I'm going to make good of those movie night plans' Sheppard said

I laughed as Beckett came out. I didn't release Sheppard's hand and Beckett raised his eyebrow but didn't comment.

'You'll be in here for a few days so don't go making plans' Beckett said

'Thats alright doc, I don't think anyone's going anywhere' I replied easily 'I'll let you get some rest Shep'

I stood up to leave and Shep hung on to my hand. I looked down at him curiously. He frowned before looking up at me.

'I'm really sorry you all went through that today' He said

I shook my head 'Like I said, you can't apologise for accidents. But thank you' I said

He let go of my hand and I left.

I slept fitfully that night. Gunshots, blood spatters and screams filled my dreams.

The nightmares were back.


	12. Chapter 11 Nightmares and Medication

_I'm very sorry to whoever is following this story about the period of no updating. I've had other things going on lately and it's only recently I looked back at this and realised how long it's been. I will really try to update more often now my mind is off the other things._

_Some graphic details here so if you're squeamish best to skip the italic text. This chapter features quite heavily on the issues Marley has and if this is turning slightly mary-sueish I promise it will get better after this. Got to get it off her chest at some point though!_

XxXxX

_I was watching the clock, waiting for Dad to get home. He'd just been away for two weeks and Sarah and Charlie had been driving me nuts the whole time. _

_His car pulled up and I was just about to run to the car but Sarah beat me to it. She opened the door and looked back at me._

'_Charlie's upstairs, just keep an eye on him a sec?'_

'_Aw but Sarah-'_

'_Please?' _

_She didn't wait for an answer, she'd already gone outside. I blobbed my tongue out at the empty doorway before tossing my brown hair over my shoulder and heading up the stairs._

_I was halfway up when I heard a curious sounding clunk. I went up a few more steps until I saw Dad's study door was open. I was old enough to know not to go in there but Charlie had missed his Dad and we'd had trouble keeping him out._

'_Charlie!' I shouted_

_I ran up the rest of the stairs and got to the doorway. I heard a click just as I entered the doorway. I got sight of Charlie and the gun in his hand pointing up into his face._

_I didn't even have time to yell before it went off. The sudden sound and flash made me shut my eyes. I opened them and saw Charlie laid on the floor on his back. Blood spattered the room and his face._

_It took me seconds to calculate what happened before I screamed. I collapsed to my knees and crawled into the hallway before sitting leaning with my back against the wall, my head in my hands._

'_DAD!' I screamed out 'HELP DAD!'_

_I heard footsteps in the hallway, they then thundered up the stairs and I saw my Dad come into the landing. Still dressed in his uniform. He looked at me and then the open doorway. When he got there he simply stood there, frozen. White as a sheet._

_Sarah came two seconds later and looked into the study. She screamed louder than me. And she didn't stop. I put my hands over my ears and tried to drown her out. _

I sat up in bed, panting. I heaved myself out of bed, the sheets still tangled around my legs and cannoned into the bathroom. I was sick into the toilet until I was dry heaving and my sides hurt.

I laid on my back on the cool tiles. It'd been years since I'd had a nightmare as graphic as that, it shocked me because there were details I'd forgotten. I shook my head and looked at my watch. It was three thirty and I groaned. Great, another day of wandering around like a zombie.

I wiped my hands over my face tiredly before heaving myself up and looking in the mirror. I winced. I was sweaty, pale and my eyes looked red. I ran the cold water tap and splashed my face.

When I dried my face off I didn't look as bad but my eyes were still red and my face was pale. I went into my room and laid back in bed.

I rolled around for a bit before deciding it wasn't happening so I got up again. I pulled on my gown and didn't bother with my slippers. No one was up at this time to see my toenails which Dana had painted red. I'd drawn the line at my fingernails.

I wandered my way to the Mess hall, my bare toes freezing by the time I arrived. The night chef shook his head at me before turning away to prepare my mug of sweet strong tea.

'Oh come on Joe' I said to his back

'Don't you 'oh come on' me. You come into my mess hall and look like someone took you on a long run, dropped you off a cliff, fished you out and then did it again for good measure!' Joe replied

'Don't worry, one day you'll see me looking pretty' I replied with a scoff

Joe laughed deeply before handing me the tea. I didn't bother waiting for it to cool down before taking a sip. I swallowed it quickly and sighed deeply.

'Ah you're the best Joe' I said

'You ever gonna go to Dr Beckett and get something to help you sleep at night? Not that I don't enjoy seeing you?' Joe asked

'I know. I guess I don't want him to think I'm insane I suppose' I replied

'Half the science geeks think you are!' Joe shot back

'Yeah well they don't know me!' I replied

'Whatever, just you make sure you get this sleep problem seen to' Joe said

'I will' I answered before gulping the tea and heading back.

I managed to get settled in bed with a warm stomach and cold toes. I slept fine for the rest of the night but last night's little escapade was enough to make me sleep through my alarm.

It was the doorbell chiming that got me up. I opened my door rubbing my eyes and yawning.

'So who has the cannon?' I asked tiredly, rubbing my eyes.

'Oh pull yourself together'

'Dana! What are you doing?' I asked

'Making sure you aren't late again. Hurry up, I got you a blueberry muffin to tide you over until lunch but you've got to hurry up and get dressed!' She said

I jumped and pulled her inside.

'I'll be just a moment' I said

I ran into the bathroom. I didn't have time for a shower so I just pulled all my hair into a tight ponytail before washing my face, brushing my teeth and applying face powder. I streaked into my room, grabbed my clothes and got changed into them quickly.

'C'mon' I said

I ate as we ran but I got in on-time for once. I went straight into my office and opened my laptop. Zalenka peered at me carefully.

'Another night's lost sleep I think?' He asked

'You have no idea' I replied

'McKay isn't here today and I can take care of things. Why don't you go and see Dr Beckett?' Zalenka asked

I sighed and looked at him, my eyebrows raised. He folded his arms and raised his eyebrows right back.

'Okay okay, I'll go!' I replied

'Good, I'll make sure you have lots of things to research when you get back' Zalenka said, a chuckle to his voice.

I shook my head and left the labs. I managed to avoid anyone seeing me on my way to the Infirmary. I knocked on Beckett's office door and waited nervously. He opened it and looked at me curiously.

'Dr O'Neill, nice surprise. Come in lass' He said

I went in and sat in the chair opposite his desk. He went around to his side and folded his hands on the table in front of him.

'I take it this isn't a social call?' He asked

'Er no. Listen doc, do you mind prescribing me some sleeping pills? You know; the really good ones that should be classed as tranquilizers?' I babbled.

Beckett held up his hand to stop me and I shut up quickly. I was hoping this was going to be as painless and pride-denting as possible.

'Why on earth would you want them?' He asked

I sighed 'I just need a good night's sleep and my regular pattern has been a bit disrupted lately'

He raised his eyebrows, pulled out a pad of paper and a pen before looking at me again.

'Why?' He asked

I shook my head before looking at the paper 'Is this confidential? You won't go telling Weir or McKay or something?'

'If you want it kept that way I can keep it that way' Beckett replied

'Alright, oh and no blabbing to Heightmeyer either. And let me see your hands so I can see you haven't crossed your fingers or something stupid' I said, my eyebrow raised

'Fine' Beckett answered, his hands raised so I could see.

'The nightmares have come back' I told him

'What are you dreaming about?' Beckett asked

'My brother's death' I replied

'Is it detailed, or vague' Beckett asked

'Detailed, more like a flashback really' I replied

Beckett nodded and wrote down what I was saying before looking up at me again.

'Now I can't force you to but I do think it would be best for you to speak to Dr Heightmeyer about this. Get down to what may have triggered this' Beckett replied

'Oh I know what triggered it. When Ford killed that bug I was on the radio link. I heard the gunfire' I replied 'It frightened me'

'Are you afraid of guns?' Beckett asked

I sighed. This was more pride-stinging that helping now. I almost wished I'd just exercised my stubborn streak and refused to come here.

'Wouldn't you be?' I asked

Beckett nodded 'Aye I think I might. I take it you do have fire arm training though?'

'Yeah, I can handle most guns and use them efficiently. I'd prefer not to though' I replied

Beckett frowned 'But in this place, a gun can save your life'

'It's not a big deal, I can cope' I said, getting up to leave, deciding I would have to cope without sleeping meds.

'Now lass don't be stubborn, I-'

He was cut off by his radio '_Medical team to the Gateroom!_'

I frowned 'Wasn't Colonel Sheppard's team the one out today?'

Dr Beckett groaned before getting up with a rush. He pulled his lab coat off and threw it over his desk. I followed him out into the main Infirmary where his staff were already preparing items.

'Come on, we've got no idea on what the injury is or how severe' Dr Beckett shouted

He and his team ran to the Gateroom and I decided to follow them. The thought that Sheppard or Ford were possibly hurt was enough to make me go.

When we got there is was McKay on the floor. I furrowed my brows as Beckett and his medical ushered Sheppard and Ford out of the way to work on him.

'Is he alive?' I asked, fearfully

'Yeah, he's alive. Must've been hit with one of those stunner things' Sheppard answered before looking at me properly 'What about you, are you okay? You look tired'

I rolled my eyes 'What is with everyone today?'

'Well, you do look like you didn't sleep well last night' Sheppard said defensively

'As a matter of fact I did' I replied stubbornly

He arched one eyebrow at me 'I've not known you for very long but that was a blatant lie' He replied folding his arms

I blinked at him 'Okay fine, I didn't sleep well-'

'Are you going to see Dr Beckett?' He interrupted

'I've already been!' I snapped 'Why don't you be more concerned for your team-mate who is lying on the floor unconscious than whether I've slept well or not!'

I turned my back on him and walked away, fuming. I went back to the science lab, locked the door to the office and growled to myself. I turned around and jumped. Dr Zalenka was sat at his desk with a scared kind of look on his face. I took a moment to steady my breathing before looking up at him again.

'What did Dr Beckett say?' He asked in a small voice

'He wanted to go into psychology with me and- shit I forgot to get the pills off him!' I groaned

'Wouldn;t he have given you them?' He asked

'No there was a thing, McKay's been shot with some kind of stunner and he didn't fill out a prescription. As you can understand there were more pressing matters' I replied

I sat at my desk and sighed, tugging at a lock of hair which fell over one eye.

'I'm sure if you go back later-'

'No, I'll manage without' I replied


	13. Chapter 12 Spy?

Zalenka left the office soon after and I got to work on some of the Database for McKay. He'd found a weapons manifest but needed it translating. I was buried deep into it when a knock on the door got my attention. I looked up to see Dana who had already opened the door and shut it behind her.

'What's up?' I asked

'How long have you been in here?' She asked 'It's nearly time to go and you skipped lunch!'

I looked down at my watch and sighed 'Didn't realise how long I've been working on this'

'Well come out, something's happening' Dana said

I took off my glasses, rubbed my eyes and followed her out of the door.

'Okay, what?' I asked

'I'm not sure but it's something to do with the Athosians. They've all been confined to their quarters' Dana replied

I left the lab, following her when Halling shouted behind me.

'Dr O'Neil'

'Halling, how are you?' I asked politely while Dana paused, waiting for me to have a conversation.

'Not very happy, but thank you for asking. I have to have an interview with Dr Weir, can you keep Jinto company for me while I am gone. I hate to leave him alone' Halling asked

I glanced at Dana who nodded and walked off. I looked back up at Halling who looked down at me with a slightly pleading expression. I smiled.

'Of course I will. Does he need any food?' I asked

'No he has eaten' Halling replied 'Thank you Dr O'Neil-'

'Please Halling, call me Marley' I said with a smile

He nodded 'Marley. I will come back as soon as the interview is over'

I watched him to the end of the corridor before turning and heading towards his shared quarters with Jinto. I rang the bell and Jinto opened the door, his expression curious before swapping quickly to joy.

'Marley!' He cried

He threw his arms around my waist and I ruffled his hair playfully.

'What are you doing here?' He asked

'Your father asked me to come and watch you while he has an interview' I replied

Jinto's face dropped slightly, as if reminded of something. He turned around and walked into the quarters. I followed him, concerned over what had the young boy who was usually so lively down.

'Jinto?' I asked

'Dr Weir has confined us all to our quarters except to eat at mealtimes or if we have an interview with her' Jinto said dully 'It's not fair'

I was quite shocked. What had happened for Dr Weir to do something so drastic.

'Has something happened?' I asked

'I don't know. Father won't tell me anything' Jinto replied

I frowned. I spent the time talking with him, joking and I even told him the earth fairy tale about Hansel and Gretal. He seemed to enjoy it and asked lots of questions. I watched as he excitedly memorised it, saying he wanted to tell his friends.

Eventually Halling returned but he looked as though he was fuming. Jinto retreated to his room as I faced Halling.

'Halling?' I asked

'How dare they!' He exclaimed

'What do you mean?' I asked

'They're accusing Athosians of spying' He replied

I felt my mouth drop open, this must be what Dana was talking about. I shook my head.

'Dr Weir won't stand for this' I replied confidently

'Dr Weir is conducting interviews and has agreed to have the Athosians limited to a few areas and be confined to their quarters for the moment'

I felt stunned. Dr Weir was a fine leader that much I knew, but what made me believe that was her own beliefs. I couldn't believe the Athosians were practically being kept prisoners on Atlantis on her order.

'I will speak with Major Sheppard. Perhaps he knows something' I replied

Halling nodded. I reached out to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

'I do not believe that any one of the Athosians are responsible for the difficulties that have been occurring with Major Sheppard's team' I said, honestly and sincerely

Halling's tense facial features relaxed 'Thank you Dr-'

'Please Halling, Marley, or at least Marlene. We are friends and so you shouldn't speak to me with formality' I urged with a smile

'Marlene' Halling said, a small smile in return

I turned and left the living space but I stopped when I saw Jinto poke his head around a doorway. I knelt and opened my arms to him. He smiled and rushed into the embrace gleefully.

'Don't worry Jinto, I'm sure everything will work out in the end' I reassured him

'Thanks Marlene' He replied

I peeled the boy off me before leaving their quarters. I made my way out of the area and went to radio Sheppard but jumped when it beeped first.

'Dr O'Neil' I activated my radio

'_You know how Zalenka and I have been trying to figure out all of the subroutine commands for the Jumpers since our last unfortunate encounter with one?_' McKay's voice came through the radio

'Yeah?' I asked

'_Well, we opened the roof!_'

I pulled a face 'Is that all?'

There was a slight pause '_I thought you'd be excited_'

'I have bigger problems to worry about right now than whether we can open the roof...hang on. Can we fly Jumpers out of it?' I asked

'_Yes, thats what I was trying to tell you. Isn't it cool?_'

'Yes it is. I'll be there in a sec' I replied

Anything that exciting would be certain to have Sheppard all over it. I hoped I could get a chance to speak to him.

I didn't have to wait long before he came into the Jumper bay, followed by an eager looking Ford.

'Hey Marley' Ford greeted

'Hi' I replied with a smile

He shot a slightly uneasy look at Sheppard before excusing himself and stepping into a Jumper. Sheppard looked at me carefully.

'You're still mad?' He asked

'I am mad, but if you're referring to your nosiness over my sleeping pattern, no' I replied shortly

'Then spit it out' Sheppard said

'What do you know of Dr Weir restricting the Athosians?' I asked

Sheppard groaned and put one hand over his eyes 'Look, I didn't approve of it but there's no other choice. Dr Weir's got people running around here who she doesn't even know the names of'

'What about the children? Jinto for example is confined to his quarters and he hasn't even seen his friends for days' I retorted

Sheppard looked uncomfortable but I knew there was nothing he could do. It could be deemed a military situation but even if Sheppard took command he would've likely had to do the same thing.

'Listen, I'll speak to you when we get back' Sheppard said, he paused, looking slightly shifty 'Are we still good?'

It was my turn to look surprised 'Of course'

'Good'

Then he did something unexpected. He pulled me into a small hug, pressed a small kiss to my temple before turning and going into the Jumper. I nodded to myself, slightly shocked at what he'd just done before walking out of the Jumper bay, barely noticing that my knees had gone slightly to jelly.

Two hours later, Sheppard stormed into my office and slammed the door behind him. I flinched at the sudden noise and my face must've betrayed I was startled.

'I'm sorry' John apologised

'What for? Being nosy or scaring the crap out of me?'

'Both'

I paused, watching him pace before he turned and rested his hands on my desk, leaning right over me.

'I have something to tell you' He said

'Oookay' I said, leaning back to allow myself some room

'Ford and I found land today'

I found I was pleasantly surprised by this. Land might mean growing our own food or research groups exploring it. It might be nice to get off the Atlantis base without being off-world for the first time. Sheppard however cut my pleasant thoughts short.

'The Athosians are leaving to reside there instead'

I immediately felt like I'd had a kick to the stomach 'What?' I asked

'They don't feel welcome anymore' He supplied

'I'm not too surprised; they have been treated like prisoners' I replied 'Is Teyla leaving with them or staying?'

Sheppard looked at me for a second, an unsure look on his face.

'I'm concerned for your team Sheppard' I replied lightly

Sheppard looked at me a moment longer before saying 'She's staying'

I nodded before closing my laptop and pulling off my glasses. I opened my door and indicated he should leave. He did as I wanted but when I followed him out he looked at me, unsure again.

'I want to say goodbye to Halling and Jinto' I said simply

Sheppard nodded 'I know you care for them'

'I wish this wasn't happening. We're losing good friends. Our staff and the Athosians have bonded' I replied

'I know. But some things aren't meant to be' Sheppard said simply

'I know' I agreed easily

We walked down the corridor in silence but out of the corner of my eye I could see him glancing at me. Eventually, when we got to where the Athosian quarters were he stopped me.

'I'll leave you to it but about this morning, when you were angry...Is there anything you want to talk about?' He asked

'I'm fine. It's a personal thing and I don't like it when people notice. Speaking of, I need to go and collect some medicine from Beckett later' I said with a frown

'I'll fetch it for you if you like' Sheppard offered

'Isn't that a bit inappropriate?' I asked

Sheppard scratched his head 'A little I suppose but no one needs to know'

I raised my eyebrow 'Have you not heard the rumours flying around about us?'

John frowned and shook his head 'No'

Both of my eye brows raised but I noticed John was blinking a lot. I shook my head.

'No Major Sheppard, I can pick up my own medication' I said firmly before turning around and walking away.

As I approached Halling's quarters I frowned. What on earth had made Sheppard and I bump shoulders so much today? I got to Halling's door and rang the chime. Jinto answered it and opened the door wide, crashing into my body and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I hugged him back, I had known him for such a short amount of time but I all I could feel towards the young boy was a sisterly love. I felt my eyes water at the thought before looking up and spotting Halling.

'Come Jinto, lets allow Marlene inside shall we?' He said softly to his son

When Jinto peeled himself away from me his large brown eyes were glistening with tears but he bit his lip and held them back. I went inside their home. The usual trinkets and things kept on display were gone. The beds had been stripped of the Athosian sheets and the standard issue bedding had replaced them.

'I'm sorry you feel you have to leave' I said softly

'Our stay here was not what we expected. But do not worry, our paths will cross again Marlene. That I am sure' Halling smiled

He placed his hand on my shoulder and produced a small, carved wooden figure. It was a tiki style man, I took it and looked up at Halling questioningly.

'I carved it. It is believed that statues such as these bring the owner luck and protection' He explained

I closed my hand around the small figure protectively 'Thank you, so much'

Halling smiled 'You are a special woman Marlene. You are kind and you look upon others fairly but with caution. Do not change for anyone or anything'

I felt my eyes water up and I quickly wiped a tear that threatened to overspill. It was high praise from Halling and completely unexpected.

'I don't want either of you to leave' I said honestly

Halling gave me a sad smile and leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine. I accepted the Athosian goodbye before kneeling to do the same to Jinto.

After that I left quickly, allowing a few tears to over spill. I bowed my head, not wanting anyone to see. I rounded a corner and bumped directly into someone. I backed off and to my dismay found I'd walked into Teyla.

She looked at me with surprise before an indifferent mask slipped over her eyes.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump you' I said

I went to walk around her but she stuck out her arm and stopped me. She looked at me with an unreadable expression.

'If I could have it the way I wanted, they wouldn't be leaving' She said softly

I looked at her for a second before I nodded. She let her arm down and I walked away. I went straight to the Infirmary felling like today had been the most turbulent I'd experienced in a long time...and that was saying something!

XxXxX

_Hope this was okay! Review please _


	14. Chapter 13 False Accusations and a Truce

The next morning I stood near Teyla watching the Athosians go to the Jumper Bay. My eyes were fixed on Jinto and Halling as they carried through their belongings. Weir walked to Teyla and they spoke quietly but I could still hear their words.

'I've never been separated from my people before' Teyla said quietly

'It must be hard, but you know you'll see them again' Weir replied gently

There was a slight pause and from the corner of my eye I saw Teyla turn to look at Weir.

'Do you doubt that you'll return to your home, Earth?' Teyla asked

'I can't afford to have doubts' Weir stated

'You mean you cannot afford to let them show?' Teyla stated

I saw Weir twitch slightly 'You're still a leader, Teyla. You're doing this for their future, they know that'

Weir patted her shoulder before leaving. I watched Teyla in my peripheral vision. She watched the Athosians, her face was blank but her eyes were full of despair. I couldn't help but feel pity towards the woman who wasn't all that much older than I was but certainly carried more responsibility than I did.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind I walked to her. She turned her head slightly to look at me and I stopped beside her.

'I thought you looked like you needed some company' I said quietly

She nodded; her face still deadpan but her eyes changed. She looked grateful so I simply stood beside her companionably. The Athosians finished going into the allocated jumpers and then the doors shut. I heard Teyla let out a deep sigh. The Jumpers took off through the roof hatch.

'Dr O'Neill? ' Teyla spoke suddenly

'Yes Teyla?' I asked

'What was your life on Earth like?'

I was surprised by the sudden personal question. I turned to look at her with one eyebrow raised and she had the good grace to look slightly shy which I immediately thought wasn't a very good look on her compared to the stony expression I was used to.

'It was alright I guess, I had my Dad and his colleagues who became kind of like an extended family'

'No mother?' Teyla asked

'No mother' I replied 'But what I had was more than enough'

'I too only had my Father and friends as family' Teyla revealed 'Why did you leave Earth?'

'I'm not sure really, new horizons I guess. I knew the risks and I accepted them, my family agreed I should go. I wouldn't have come if they weren't okay with it' I explained

'It seems you and I have learnt a lesson. Sometimes it is best to do what is right rather than what you wish' Teyla said 'I must prepare for an off-world mission'

I nodded and we both left the bay, going our separate ways. I went to the lab and sat working. Telling Teyla about my father had got me thinking about him. I wondered if he was happy and healthy, wondered if he was missing me as much as I was missing him and if he was eating enough. I snorted in amusement at the thought of him cooking something. That got me thinking about others, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c.

Zalenka came in and sat at his own laptop, he eyed me though and I ignored him.

'You know, for such a young woman you seem to be grumpy all the time' Zalenka said light heartedly

'Relax I was just thinking about home' I replied

'Ah, I too am beginning to miss Earth. I am fancying a rich meaty stew with a good wine' Zalenka smiled

'I'm wondering if my Dad has been eating. He can't cook to save his life' I replied with a small laugh

Zalenka looked at me in disbelief 'Something the great General O'Neill cannot do?'

'Oh please, he can't sing either unfortunately that doesn't stop him' I replied

Zalenka snorted 'He can't sing?'

I shook my head with a small giggle.

'Does that mean you cannot sing or cook?' Zalenka asked

'Psh, I can do both' I bragged earning a laugh from Zalenka

Throughout the day I learned that Major Sheppard's team had been attacked once again. Ford and Teyla were left behind and now missing. They got back after awhile though. I got on with my work uneasily but then my radio beeped.

'O'Neill'

'_Hey, It's McKay. Sergeant Bates says he has a job for us, come to lab four please_'

'Okay' I replied

I headed down and found McKay stood beside Sergeant Bates. He was carrying a bag. I looked at it curiously before standing beside McKay.

'This is the bag Teyla was carrying on your last trip. I want you to search it' Bates said

With that he tipped the bag inside out. McKay stared at the contents of the bag in horror while I looked at Bates in disgust.

'Don't you know it's rude to go through a woman's handbag?' I snarled

Bates ignored my own less than polite remark 'We're looking for weapons, transmitters, recording devices, anything that looks like it's beyond the Athosians level of technology'

'And if we don't find anything do we move onto a strip search?' McKay growled

I was surprised by the venom in his voice. Bates glared at him before turning his glare on me.

'Just do it' He ordered

He marched from the room. McKay and I looked at each other and I reached for the first item. As I inspected it McKay shifted uncomfortably.

'Don't give me all the dirty work' I said

'I don't feel right touching her stuff' McKay said

'And I do? Look if we can prove her innocence I'm sure she'll at least appreciate that' I replied

It seemed to convince McKay and he sat in a chair and picked up an item gingerly. We had gone through most of the stuff and by now I was starting to wonder if this would have completely shattered the hesitant truce I now had with her if we didn't find anything. I picked up a necklace and scanned it lazily. A signal came up and my mouth dropped open.

'McKay, think I've got something' I said hesitantly

His eyes flicked up and he eyed the necklace and the device I held in my hand. He took it from me and inspected the signal.

'It seems to be a transmitter' I said

'I'd best go and tell Bates' McKay said sadly

I sat there for a second before making up my mind 'Wait! Go and get Sheppard, I'll just have another poke around at this thing while you get him'

'Why?' McKay asked

'Neither of us thinks she's guilty and I'm sure you don't want to sell her out. Just go and fetch Sheppard, if we tell Bates he won't wait for us to figure out properly what this thing is' I said

McKay nodded 'Yeah...yeah you're right. I'll go and fetch Sheppard'

Upon investigation, I found the device was actually very clever. It was a short range transmitter, only capable of sending a signal probably a short range into space. Teyla would've had to know exactly what it was she had or she couldn't have known at all. The next thing I discovered was that the small device was ancient tech.

I touched the actual device in the necklace and immediately the signal dropped. I looked at it curiously before touching it again. The signal reappeared. Teyla couldn't have activated the device herself, as far as I knew she didn't happen to carry the ATA Gene.

McKay came back, followed by Sheppard who eyed Teyla's stuff littering the surface of the table. He looked between us both.

'What the hell is this?' He looked at me angrily 'I know you and Teyla don't exactly see eye to eye but really? I can't believe you'd stoop as low as to search through her stuff to throw her out!'

I sat there with my mouth open, I couldn't believe he'd just accused me of that. I'd taken notes on the necklace on the notepad sat next to me. I got up, went to McKay and handed him the notepad.

'I believe you'll find all the information you'll need to clear Teyla's name in this. Please return it to me once you're done with it' I said shortly before going to leave

'Where are you going?' McKay asked

'I'm going back to work. I'm not going to stand here and take false accusations' I hissed, shooting a glare at Sheppard.

I went back to my lab. I knew that normally I'd be angry at this kind of thing but I found myself feeling more hurt than anger.

'How the hell could he think that of me!' I shouted out suddenly

'Who thinks what?'

I jumped and turned. Ford was stood there, eyeing me with a mixture of curiosity and concern. I took a few deep breaths.

'Nothing. Just some personal issues' I stammered

Ford reached out and grabbed my arm. I faced him hesitantly. I'd discovered that once Ford thought of you as a friend, which I knew he did towards me from a few of my sleepless late nights in the mess hall, he squeezed information out very easily.

'Don't Ford, not now. It's been a trying day and I just want to be alone I think' I sighed

Ford looked at me a moment longer 'Not buying Marley, come on. I've got some free time. I'll come to your lab and you can talk to me while you do whatever it is you do'

I found I didn't have the strength to argue. I knew if I was angry I would've been very fired up and defensive by now. I found myself nodding meekly and letting Ford follow me to my lab.

A few cups of coffee and I found myself telling him about missing my Dad, missing Earth, finally making some sort of peace with Teyla, Bates getting me and McKay to search her stuff and the feelings I'd had over that before finally coming to Sheppard accusing me of stooping as low as to search her things to get her thrown out. I found my eyes watering up and I furiously blinked but one escaped. I swiped it away quickly but of course Ford had been watching me closely the whole time but he didn't comment.

'I have my grandparents and sister on Earth you know' Ford said quietly

'Ford, I know everyone's in the same boat but-'

'No no, hear me out. When I'm sad or I'm lonely I remember why I'm here. I'm here to protect the people on this mission so that they can keep doing the work they're doing and then we can find a way to get back home. Then we can protect Earth from the Wraith and that thought keeps me together'

'That even though we're far from home we're still doing our loved ones a service?' I asked

'Exactly, that and I get to kill a few aliens' Ford joked

I snorted despite myself before wiping away another escaped tear. Ford looked at me sympathetically.

'I know he's upset you. I'll be having a word with him about that!' Ford said

'Yeah, he's your Commanding Officer. Good luck with that' I replied

'So I won't deck him one. You're my friend Marley, and a good one. You saved my life too' Ford said

I shook my head and picked up the empty mugs 'I don't need you to defend my honour Ford. If I can deal with two months of death glares from Teyla, I can certainly deal with Sheppard sending one jumped up accusation my way'

'Whatever you say' Ford said with a grin.

His radio beeped and he answered it, his face matching his professional answer. It sounded like he was being called somewhere.

'McKay's called a briefing on the locket, he says you don't have to go, your notes are enough but do you want-'

'No, I think my attendance will only spell disaster for Sheppard's nose' I answered

Ford pulled a face 'Why his nose?'

'I know he's you're commanding officer and it's highly unprofessional of me to say this to you but I think I would punch him in the face' I said

'No you wouldn't' Ford said

I eyed him dangerously 'Oh yes I would'

About an hour after Ford left, McKay came in. He simply barged open the door. I sat up and looked at the door as it swung shut.

'Ever heard of knocking Dr McKay?' I asked sweetly

He gave me a blank look. I shook my head in exasperation before going back to my work.

'What do you want?' I asked

'I saw the look on your face when Sheppard said that stuff to you-'

'I'm surprised you noticed anything'

I don't pretend to be very perceptive of human emotion because I'm not-'

'I wouldn't have guessed'

'Stop being sarcastic and tell me straight. Are the rumours about you and Sheppard true?' McKay asked

I looked up. I took my glasses off and shut my laptop lid. I stood up and walked to McKay. I folded my arms across my chest and glared up at the older scientist. He actually shrank back slightly.

'And what if they are?' I asked

'If they were, he shouldn't have just accused you of that. If I know that you're too professional and too damn nice to do that to someone then he certainly should' McKay said

I actually felt slightly touched 'Are you going soft on me McKay?'

'No. I don't appreciate members of my staff taking abuse from someone other than me' He replied indignantly but he looked away

I chuckled softly 'Yeah okay Rodney. And for the record, the rumours are just rumours'

McKay nodded stiffly and made to leave 'Oh and er, we've figured out that device. I've briefed Weir and Bates and Weir says well done. You can finish up early if you want'

I cocked my head to the side but McKay had left before I could say anything. I ran my hand through my hair in disbelief. I went back to my quarters and had just gotten changed out of my uniform when the door chimed. I opened it up to see a hesitant looking Teyla. I blinked in surprise.

'May I come in?' She asked

I nodded, I was still in shock over McKay but this was really taking the biscuit. Teyla stepped past me and looked around my room. I was glad I was tidy by nature. She stopped and looked at the picture by my bedside table.

'Is this your family?' She asked

'Yeah' I went over and picked up the picture 'That's my Dad, He can't sing or cook. That's Sam, if I'm not around, she cooks for my Dad. That's Daniel, he's like my best friend in the whole world. That's Teal'c, he's kind of like a gruff uncle who's a big softie really'

Teyla actually smiled, I set the picture down again.

'I heard that you are the one who located the device?' Teyla said

'Yes I did' I replied

'You proved my innocence' Teyla said

'I helped'

'And I also heard that Sheppard falsely accused you of trying to get me thrown out because we previously did not see eye to eye' Teyla said

I tensed, not sure if I wanted Teyla knowing that much. Her expression was soft and actually apologetic. I decided to humour her.

'Just because we didn't get along doesn't mean I would have done that even if we hadn't happened to have established some sort of truce before. Sheppard should've known' I said

Teyla nodded, she turned away and looked around my room again before turning back to me.

'I think I owe you an apology' Teyla said

I frowned 'What?'

'You don't know but when Major Sheppard first came to Athos, his commanding officer was not very friendly and not very concerned with trying to be friendly. Major Sheppard was different, he was very friendly and also very charming. I must admit I thought it was because he might've been attracted to me and I was very flattered and I have to say I found him very attractive and he drew me in easily' She paused 'Then when he rescued us and brought me back. I saw the way you greeted each other and I could see the way he looked at you, I knew he had simply been over-friendly with me. I was wrong to treat you the way I have because I was jealous, I can promise you it won't happen again and I hope that we can one day become friends'

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open and she suddenly looked uneasy.

'You were jealous?' I asked

'Yes' She admitted easily

I blinked at her stupidly and she opened her mouth again.

'Also, I couldn't quite believe how quickly Jinto and Halling came to care for you, as if you were an Athosian'

I shook my head 'Listen Teyla, how about we just put all of this behind us? There is nothing between Sheppard and I. After his performance today I will certainly not be speaking to him anytime soon. You want him? Go for him' I said

Teyla shook her head with another smile 'No thank you. It is easy to move on once you see that he's just friendly. I shall speak to him though-'

I cut her off quickly 'No thanks. Seriously, I think I can make do without'

Teyla nodded slightly but then gave me a coy grin 'But who will bring you a sandwich when you miss lunch?'

I stared at her before I busted up laughing. She chuckled along with me and I reached out and touched her arm.

'You know what, I think I would like for us to be friends Teyla'

'I am glad Marlene. I take a run in the morning, if you like I could accompany you?' She offered

'I'd like that very much. And also if I don't turn up, it's nothing personal. I don't sleep very well at night'

XxXxX

The next two nights saw the sleeping pills Beckett had given me doing their job, leaving me able to go for a run with Teyla in the mornings and on the second day we met up at lunch to eat together. Dana quickly came around to Teyla once she ate with us too and the three of us made quite a good blend of personalities.

Then Weir and Sheppard planned a mission to draw Wraith in, using the transmitter on Teyla's necklace. She revealed it had been a gift from her father but after finding out what it had been doing she was reluctant to take it back. She was happy to go ahead with the plan so on our third morning run I wished her luck before heading back to my quarters for a shower and to head to the lab.

At least four hours later she was back, she looked a little messed up but all was good. I nodded to her and she came over.

'I am going to the Mainland to visit my people, would you like to come?' She asked

I smiled and looked up at McKay who came in, he also looked a little worse for wear but he also looked inharmed.

'McKay-'

'She already asked me, it's alright. Take a few scanners with you though; bring back some samples for the mud scientists, plants for the botany department. You know the drill' he said tiredly

I grinned and got the things together I needed. I followed Teyla down to the Jumper bay but stopped short in the doorway. Sheppard was stood leaning on a Jumper. Teyla nudged me with her arm to make me move again.

'You didn't say he was the pilot' I said

'You have to make friends at some point' Teyla whispered back

She nodded to him and entered the Jumper. I strode past him without even a glance, missing the guilty expression on his face.

I ended up having to sit next to him in the co-pilot's chair. I leaned back in my seat heavily. This was going to be awkward.


	15. Chapter 14 Sort of Makeups

_So this chapter is a bit of a filler chap. Not much will occur in this. _

_Anyway, on with the chapter!_

XxXxX

The Jumper touched down not far from the Athosian camp on the Mainland. Sheppard dropped the back down and Teyla got up.

'I understand you are to do some work. I will help the villagers prepare some food for you both' Teyla said with a smile before she set off towards the camp.

I picked my pack up off the floor, shouldered it and pulled my ponytail out from underneath the pack. I heard the cock of a gun and I jumped away from the noise, spinning to face Sheppard. He looked at me cautiously, but he was pointing a P-90 straight at me.

'Point that damn thing someplace else!' I said loudly

He jumped himself and instantly lifted it away from me. I worked to calm my breathing back down.

'Relax, the safety's on. See?' He said

'Just don't point it at me' I snapped

I spun on my heel and strode out of the Jumper. I didn't go far before I dumped the pack down and began emptying the sample pots out. I pulled on some rubber gloves before beginning to dig through the layer of vegetation to get to the dirt.

'I didn't know you were afraid of guns' Sheppard said

I ignored him and began to drop little shovels of dirt into a sample pot before covering it up and moving to a different spot a few feet away.

'Oh real mature Marley. The silent treatment' Sheppard scoffed

I stood up sharply and seeing red, I threw the sample pot full of dirt at him. He ducked but I'd already bent and picked up the empty one. I flung it at him just as he stood upright again and it bounced off the side of his head with a hollow thunk, knocking his sunglasses askew.

'Hey!'

'Be thankful it was a pot and not my fist, _Major_' I hissed, bending and simply grabbing a fistful of dirt.

'Look, I'm sorry alright!' Sheppard replied

My only reply was throwing the clump of dirt which broke up once it left my hand and rained down on him. I was so angry I went to do it again. I felt a force thump into me and Sheppard had grabbed both my wrists.

'Let go of me!' I shouted in his face

'Just cool it Marley!' John shouted back, not letting go.

I just looked at him, suddenly feeling the anger ebbing and being replaced by the hurt he'd caused.

'It's Dr O'Neil to you!' I shot back, yanking my wrists from his hands.

This time he let me go so I turned away and shut my eyes as I felt them filling up again. I moved around him and retrieved the sample pots I'd thrown at him without looking at him, trying to wipe stray tears from my face without him seeing. I went to carry on with what I was supposed to be doing but I felt his hand on my shoulder. I went to shrug it off but he persisted.

'Please Marley' He said quietly

I swiped at my eyes and looked up at him. He looked at me with guilt in his expression.

'I really am sorry. I was stressed and angry and I jumped to the wrong conclusion' Sheppard said

I didn't say anything, I was too frightened I'd lose it and start blubbing in front of him. I was already mortified he'd seen me shed a few.

'As soon as I said it I could tell by your face I'd said completely the wrong thing. That and McKay looked at me like I was a lunatic. I've had two earfuls from him over it now' Sheppard said

I shook my head and went back to my dirt samples, still trying to swallow back the lump in my throat. I took a breath so I could answer him to be polite.

'I don't want to talk about it' I replied, straining to keep my voice steady

I'd moved to some shrubbery and was now pruning some twigs and dropping them into test tubes. Sheppard was keeping his distance now and had shut up.

Eventually I packed up the sample pots and took the scanner out. I walked around, scanning as I went. Sheppard followed, his military persona on. To be fair though I had my science face on to try and keep my cool. I was calming down now anyway. Once I'd gotten everything I needed I packed the scanner away.

'Alright, I'm done' I said

I went towards the village but Sheppard stopped me again by taking hold of my arm. I made a reluctant noise and looked at him.

'Are you trying to upset me?' I sighed

'No, I'm trying to make up' Sheppard replied

'I don't want to fight, we've done enough fighting over the last couple of days but that accusation hurt and it doesn't matter how stressed you were. You should've thought better of me' I said

I looked down, finding it difficult to keep eye contact with him. He didn't say anything.

'You caught me by surprise anyway' I said eventually

'Ford said you were already upset when I was an ass' Sheppard said 'I'm sorry you're missing home so much'

I shook my head, feeling my chest go tight again 'That's enough. I want to go and see Halling and Jinto now please. I don't want to fight so let go of my arm'

Sheppard let go right away and I turned to go into the village. Jinto was clearly waiting on the outskirts and as soon as I saw him on the track he spotted me too and he sprinted the full distance and slammed into me. I knelt and wrapped my arms around him.

'I know it has not been long, but I have missed you so much Marlene' Jinto said

'Oh me too' I replied, struggling again to keep myself together

Halling and Teyla had heard the commotion and come out of a tent. Halling nodded to Sheppard before peeling Jinto off me and greeting me the Athosian way by touching his forehead to mine.

'Come, we have prepared food for you' He said

I smiled as Jinto took my hand and pulled me away to their tent to let me look. I could see this was more how they were used to living. Furs covered the fur and beds, trinkets were scattered everywhere and their two beds were neatly made.

Jinto chattered at me for ages until Halling called us out for food. It turned out the dinner was a communal thing, everyone ate together. They all talked and laughed and it did me wonders.

By the time we packed up and left it was already early evening. Halling, another villager, I think his name was Kanaan and Jinto escorted us back to the Jumper.

Just as I was about to board, Jinto tugged my hand. I knelt down to his level and he pressed a smooth pebble into my hand. I rolled it in my palm before looking at him curiously.

'I found that awhile ago and I would like you to have it' He said

I gave him a smile and pressed a quick peck to his forehead and gave him one last cuddle. I then got up, said goodbye to Halling and the other villager and boarded the jumper. Teyla had a quick moment alone with them and I slid into the co-pilot's chair again.

Once Teyla entered we took off. She watched me rolling the pebble around in my hand. Now it was in a bit more light I could see it had a blueish tone to its appearance with a bit of black mottling. It was certainly an interesting pebble.

'Jinto found that when he was young and has always carried it with him. He must like you a great deal to have given it to you' Teyla said

I looked around at her and suddenly the pebble felt heavier in my hand. I tucked it carefully into the breast pocket of my jacket and looked out of the window.

I fell into bed without taking my sleeping pill but slept through the whole night I was so exhausted.

XxXxX

The next week was another hectic one. First, Sheppard's team came across a world where children were sacrificing themselves because they believed it was protecting them from the wraith.

In typical Atlantis Team 1 style though they managed to get the problem sorted out and teenagers no longer had to kill themselves. I could tell it had shook Sheppard up though and Ford too.

'We're only two years older than them between us Marley. Imagine what we would've missed out on if we'd had to do that?' Ford had asked

Then Carson and Sheppard's team spent nearly a month to and from a planet called Hoff we'd managed to make peace with. They were the most technologically advanced planet we'd come across so far but they were cut-throat.

Even though my science wasn't medical, I volunteered to go with the medical support team, Dana went too as did a young junior scientist Abrams.

It was tragic how many people had been made ill with the Hoffan drug. Their council agreed to put it to vote and we decided that if they voted for we were going to withdraw our peace with them.

A few hours before the vote was due back I was passing a cubicle and I heard a muffled noise. I looked around the door and saw Carson, clutching the hand of the woman I knew he'd been working with the past month.

When I approached silently, I saw she'd passed away. I shut my eyes and then looked down at Carson, who was clearly trying to mourn quietly. I reached down and put my hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at me, his eyes still shining and tear tracks down his face. I immediately felt my own eyes well up at his obvious pain and he suddenly stood up, threw his arms around me and cried on my shoulder.

I simply held him as he cried, comforting him the best I could while trying to hold back my own tears at his pain. Eventually he calmed himself.

'I'll give you a minute with her' I said softly

He nodded and sat back down and resumed holding her hand.

Later that day the results of the vote came back. I'm disgusted to report that the vote was ninety-six percent in favour of the drug. We packed up and left the same day. It was safe to say Atlantis was a gloomy place to be.

XxXxX

_As usual, please review! I'm on an updating roll today. Published a new story two days ago and managed to update that, updated this and I think I'll be able to put out another chapter on my Narnia story._

_All is well in the land of Fanfiction _


	16. Chapter 15 Charlie

I was working in my office and Zalenka was down in the Jumper Bay trying to figure something out that had come up on one of the base codes. It'd been acting up ever since it'd been in the electromagnetic field protecting the children.

McKay waltzed straight in, I was now becoming used to the fact that he just walked right in these days.

'What do you want?' I asked

'Elizabeth wants you to start getting some off-world hours logged' McKay said

'I thought all the off-world teams had been established?' I asked 'And why now?'

'She said she'd read recently on your file you'd done some off-world on Earth' McKay replied

'Yeah, and?' I asked

'There are few scientists around here who can even hold a gun. You're firing scores on your last evaluation were near perfect' McKay replied

'Yeah but that doesn't mean I'll actually shoot anything alive' I retorted

'Both she and Sheppard want you to take another assessment' McKay told me

'Eugh, fine when?' I asked

'Now' He replied

'What as in right now?'

'That is generally what now means'

I pulled a face but shut my laptop obediently and followed him. We were met in the makeshift shooting range by Sheppard and Ford. I saw the standard issue pistol laid on a bench but a P-90 was also put out.

'I thought civilians don't have to use a P-90?' I asked

'No but I saw on your record you can use them so I want to test you on it' Sheppard replied

Ford set up a target and I stood in front of the two guns. Apprehension filling me, I carefully picked up the pistol. The sound of a gunshot and the smell of gunpowder filled my head and made me flinch.

'Are you alright Marley?' Ford asked

'Yeah, I'm fine' I replied but my voice trembled slightly

I took aim but the first shot I took made me flinch. The bullet didn't even hit the paper.

'Are you sure you're alright?' Sheppard asked

'Yeah I'm good!' I snapped

I shot four more rounds, this time I managed to hit the target. An empty clip later and I'd relaxed more into handling the gun and managed to shoot seven rounds into the centre. Sheppard gave me another clip and I re-loaded the gun before emptying it into the centre of a separate target.

'Right the P-90' Sheppard said

He was eyeing me carefully as he picked it up. He was just about to hand it to me but Carson burst in, his face angry. I jumped at the sudden noise and everyone stared at the normally mild doctor.

'What the hell do you think you're doing Major?' He asked

'Reassessing Dr O'Neill's gun handling and shooting for off-world' Sheppard replied, his voice sounded confused

'I'm sorry, I can't medically allow this' Carson said

I didn't know whether I was relieved or not but I followed Carson from the shooting range. I hadn't realised until I was out in the corridor that I'd been trembling.

Carson led me all the way from the shooting range to the medical bay. I was ushered straight into his office. I was again sat in the chair opposite him, across from his desk.

'What are you thinking Marley?' He asked, he seemed calmer now but his voice still had an unreadable edge.

I shook my head at him 'I'm thinking I was following orders'

'You are not military and you don't have to follow orders like that. Do you know how strong the sleeping pills to get you over your anxiety are?'

'Yes b-'

'I can't guarantee that they'll keep working if you add more pressure onto yourself'

'I know-'

'I'll have to speak to Dr Weir and Doctor Heightmeyer and-'

'Stop! Right there!' I raised my voice

Carson blinked but shut up. I took a few breaths to get what I wanted to say together in my head.

'I didn't get the order from Major Sheppard, it came from McKay. I can't dispute him, especially if that order came through him from Dr Weir. She's read my file and seen I've got a little off-world experience and shooting experience. If I can help by going off-world and find ZPMs to get us all home then I'm going to have to get over it and do my duty' I replied

Carson sat silently, watching with an unreadable expression. He sighed and shook his head.

'As a doctor all I can do is advise you to please go and speak to Heightmeyer about it and see what she can say' He paused with a slight frown 'As a friend, which I hope you consider me as, all I can say is I'll support you where I can'

I nodded 'I just know that I want to get home and see my dad and the rest of my family. I know I'm not the only one that wants that and if everyone else wants it as bad as me, which I'm completely sure they do, personal sacrifices have to be made'

Carson nodded 'Just please, let me refer you to Doctor Heightmeyer for at least one appointment and let her assess you. If she approves we'll meet with Dr Weir and talk everything through'

I thought about it. It seemed a decent enough bargain so I slowly nodded my head. Carson reached across the desk and took one of my hands.

'It's nothing to be ashamed of, seeing a psychologist and talking about things. She's as much a doctor as I am' He said

'I know, I just don't want people to think I'm crazy or something' I replied

'I'll do what I can for you, as a doctor and a friend' He paused and his blue eyes went watery for a second 'I'll never forget what you did on Hoff'

I nodded 'You are my friend Carson and I trust your judgement as both. But you may have sparked Sheppard's interest now and I'm not sure how I'll get away from it this time. Or Aiden for that matter'

'I'll order him to leave it be' Carson growled

'No, that won't be necessary. I can deal with him' I replied

'He's a good lad, he's just stubborn' Carson agreed

I left the office not soon after and not quite as I suspected but wasn't all that surprised over, Ford was waiting in my office for me. Zalenka wasn't present and I wondered if he'd cleared the office to speak to me. I felt slightly more at ease over telling Ford about my past than Sheppard. Maybe it was because he was in my age group or maybe it was the fact he just had a much more subtle tactic to Sheppard's bull in the china shop approach.

I sighed and sat in my chair when he indicated to it. We sat in silence for a second while he just simply sat and looked at me like he was assessing me.

'What?' I asked eventually 'You're here for something'

Ford leaned forwards slightly 'What was that about Marley? "Medically I can;t allow this"?'

I sighed and shut my eyes, running my hand through my hair and wondering what to say. Just because I felt more at ease discussing personal matters with Ford didn't mean it came easy.

'I can't really hide it any longer, not from people I care about' I replied

'What's happened with you and guns?' Ford asked

I took a few breaths as the images flashed in my head 'I had a brother, he was eight years old. My dad, he'd been away for awhile and he'd just got home. Charlie had been missing him badly and he kept going in dad's private study. My dad kept a hand pistol in his drawer and...and Charlie found it' I swallowed painfully

A lump formed in my throat and I struggled to breathe past it. Of course I'd spoken to head shrinks and doctors about it but telling a friend felt so much more worse.

'He was playing with it and in the time it took for me to see the door was open to getting inside he'd pointed into his face, cocked it somehow and just as I got in the doorway he-' I cut myself off when I realised tears were tracking their way down my face. I swiped them away quickly but I was surprised to find I didn't care about crying in front of someone.

'You don't have to-'

'No, I need to-I need to say' I replied, my voice shook horribly and I took a moment to steady myself 'Charlie shot himself in the face. The bullet penetrated his frontal lobe. He didn't stand a chance'

I looked down to my lap, the tears coming fast now. I simply let them drip down my face and into my lap before I heard Ford move from his chair. He sat on my desk, wrapped one arm around my shoulder and let me lean onto his chest.

I don't know how long we sat together like that. Ford didn't say anything and he didn't need to. Eventually the tears stopped and I moved away to wipe my face.

'I'm so sorry. All I seem to be doing lately is crying' I said with a small laugh, my voice croaky.

I looked up to see Ford's face looked slightly pale, his own eyes looked wet but he'd clearly got that blank military mask up.

'I can't imagine how you must have felt, how you still must feel' Ford said quietly

'I was on and off anti-depressants for a year when I was nineteen and then again and then on them solidly for two years as well as sleeping pills' I admitted 'Once Dad's and Sarah's marriage broke down and she left we only had each other. But once he got back into working and he went with the SGC things were hard to cope with. We've come a long way since then but I miss him so much, I miss both of them so much'

I cut myself off before I started crying again. My office door burst open and Sheppard was stood there. He looked between us both, confused before he settled properly on me.

'Have you been crying?' He asked

With that Ford stood up, shielding me from Sheppard's direct view. The anger on his expression was slightly frightening.

'With all due respect _sir_, I think you should just leave Marley alone for a bit to calm down. You have no idea at all' He said, his voice sounded carefully controlled

For once Sheppard actually listened to him. He nodded carefully and left. I let out a breath I didn't realise I'd been holding in. Ford returned to his seat on my desk. It felt so good to finally actually tell someone about Charlie myself rather than have it read in a file. We sat in silence for awhile before Ford sighed.

'I'm going to have to go and talk to him. I shouldn't have spoken to him like that' He said

'Perhaps not but thank you, although I think he'll still ask at some point' I said

Ford nodded and got up to leave before turning and looking back at me 'I appreciate you telling me Marley'

I gave him a small smile and he left. I worked on the rest of the stuff I had to do for the day before heading out of the office, locking the door and heading out to the mess for some food. I should've known that Sheppard would be hanging around, waiting for me. I walked into him close to the mess hall.

'Want to get something to eat?' He asked

I just nodded. I knew that my eyes were probably still quite red and I rubbed my face. He led me into the mess and we picked up some food before we sat at a table. It was quiet and probably quite late, I'd worked through the afternoon without realising again.

'What's the deal Marley? I just had Ford telling me to be careful with you, there was Doctor Beckett telling you that _medically_ you weren't allowed to use guns and now I've got a private meeting with him and Dr Weir' He asked

His voice wasn't demanding, in fact he seemed more pleading for answers. I watched him, without touching my food yet, I simply moved it around with my fork.

'I can't talk about it here' I answered quietly

'Okay?' Sheppard asked

'Just come to mine when we've finished this and I'll tell you everything. I just can't talk about it in here'

Sheppard seemed satisfied. I ate my food silently but he simply sat patiently and watched without trying to coax a regular conversation from me. I was aware I was usually talkative and I was aware that I wasn't looking up at him either. Once I'd finished he disposed of the trays like he used to when we ate together and then he followed me back to my quarters.

I showed him in and let him sit as I rummaged through my bedside drawer to find the photo album Sam had given me but when I turned around He'd already found the framed picture of me, Dad and Charlie on my drawers.

'Who's this?' He asked

I let my shoulders slump slightly 'That's my little brother Charlie, he was only a baby when they took that'

'How old were you?' John asked

'Eight' I replied

I told him about Charlie, all his likes dislikes, personality traits. I really felt that, unlike with Ford, I was pouring out a little piece of myself with sharing Charlie like this but I didn't mind as much as I thought. It seemed easier to tell Sheppard this way than to just explain.

'He used to love fire engines' I smiled 'When he was nearly two and he couldn't talk he used to call them 'derr derrs'. One time we were playing in the front yard and he stood up, kissed his fire engine went "Bye bye derr derr" and he bent down and pushed it away down the street. I ran all the way down the street to fetch it' I laughed

Sheppard chuckled, completely taken by now with the stories I was telling of this child with heaps of personality.

'He sounds like a great kid' He said

I frowned 'Was a great kid'

Sheppard sat up straight now 'What do you mean?'

'He died, when he was eight' I said

I told him the story for the second time that day but this time I didn't cry. I'd already done all that with Ford. Sheppard listened, his face blank but his eyes still said it all. He was upset for me.

'I'm sorry' He simply said

'It's something that can't be changed. Me and my Dad just had to accept it happened and move on the best we could. It tore my Dad up though, he's gotten over it enough but he's never lost the guilt. It effectively ended his marriage' I said

Sheppard simply nodded 'I'm guessing you've picked up a fear of guns' he stated

'It's hard not to, but I want to get over it. It's going to be hard but if I want to be a proper part of this expedition, I need to get over it' I replied

'We'll all do what we can to help you' Sheppard promised

I smiled and he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a comforting hug.


	17. Chapter 16 Girls Night

I was due my meeting with Dr Weir, McKay and Sheppard the next morning with Carson and Dr Heightmeyer. It was all to decide whether I could finally go off-world or not. I was very nervous so Dana and Teyla took it on themselves to try and cheer me up.

We were in my room in our pyjamas chatting. Dana was sat on the floor leaning back against my legs while I trimmed the tips of her hair with some scissors. She'd been complaining of split ends because her hair was quite fine. Teyla was watching curiously.

'Do you do this often Marlene?' She asked

'Cut people's hair?' I asked

'Yes, you are doing nice work of Dana's hair' She complemented

'She's about the only person I'd trust here to do it' Dana replied

There was a brief silence broken only by the snip of the scissors. I could see cogs turning Teyla's head though, her dark eyes thoughtful. She waited until I'd finished before talking again.

'I wonder if you might cut my hair for me?' She asked

I peered at her in surprise but she didn't stop there 'To my shoulders' She said, indicating with her hand.

I spluttered slightly 'I've not cut that much hair off before!'

She actually took on a pleading face 'Oh please Marlene'

I shook my head slightly before deciding if I really stuffed it up she could always go to the Mainland and get someone to sort it out for her. On top of that if we actually got back to Earth they'd let me take her to a hairdressers surely?

I sighed 'Alright, go in my bathroom and wet your hair or something'

She nodded and went in. She ran a bowl of water in the sink and Dana tipped her head back and tipped water down it until between them they'd managed to get it all wet.

Teyla sat herself in front of me the way Dana had and I carefully separated it onto a layer. I paused with the scissors.

'Are you sure you want me to do it?' I asked 'I mean, it's a lot of hair you're asking me to chop'

'I have had long hair all my life and I would like to try something new' She replied

I took a breath and took the first snip. Very quickly I reduced her waist length hair to shoulder length and cut a side fringe in too. Teyla was very pleased with her hair as Dana blow dried it and styled it for her. They left soon after to let me get an early night. I felt pretty good that I had developed strong bonds of friendship while I had been here but it just made me miss my family and friends all the more.


	18. Chapter 17 Underground

I sat nervously in the conference room. Carson and Dr Heightmeyer were sat on either side of me. Sheppard, Weir and McKay sat opposite me. I took a deep breath and after a quick glance at Sheppard who gave a short nod in encouragement I started speaking.

'I believe I'm ready to do off-world work' I said clearly

One corner of Weir's lip twitched in a smile before she looked up at Heightmeyer and Carson 'Do you believe she's ready?'

'She is having a full night's sleep. She has the aid of a sedative but it's a very light sedative, nothing like the strength of the one she was on a few weeks ago' Carson supplied

'I believe that Dr O'Neill is of very sound metal health and has been the time she has been here. She has had difficulties yes but her determination to get past her fears has kept her strong and now that she believes she is ready I think it would damage her progress by holding her back now' Heightmeyer told them

I didn't miss Weir's twitch turn into a full fledged smile for just a second but she quickly turned her smile into the mask of diplomacy.

'Okay. Dr O'Neill will be put onto Atlantis Team one temporarily until we find a team in need of a science officer. In the meantime she will be placed jointly under command of Dr McKay and Major Sheppard, effective immediately' Weir replied

XxXxX

Later that evening I was getting ready for bed when a chime at my doorbell got my attention. I opened my door to see Teyla and Ford stood there, Ford was carrying three cold beers and Teyla was carrying a platter of steaming food that looked to be of Athosian origins. My mouth dropped open.

'Happy joining of Atlantis team one!' Ford said loudly

Teyla laughed 'We wished to congratulate you on joining our team'

'It's only temporary guys' I laughed

'Still-' Ford moved past me and into my room '-a reason to celebrate'

I shrugged before turning to Teyla 'Come on in'

She smiled and came inside. I cracked open the beers and soon we were tucking into the food and laughing at them telling me stories about McKay on missions. Ford looked at his watch and winced.

'We have a meeting tomorrow morning with Weir. We'd best get some sleep' He said

I nodded and opened the door for them. Ford gave me a fist bump and Teyla smiled before hesitantly giving me a hug. I tensed slightly before returning it. We'd come on leaps and bounds with friendship but hugging had seemed a bit further down the line. She stepped back and smiled.

'I am glad you are on our team' She told me

'Me too' I replied

She left and I shut the door. I got into bed and fell asleep pretty quickly.

_I was stood in a large dark room. I was still in my pyjamas and my hair was loose. I heard a groan behind me and I looked around. Sheppard was laid on his back, he was clearly injured. I ran to him and dropped to my knees next to his head. I lifted his head up and supported him on my knees. _

'_John! John, look at me!'_

_He looked up at me briefly but his eyes dropped closed and his body went limp_

I sat up with a gasp in bed. My first thought was of frustration for forgetting to take the sedative then I realised I'd been crying in my sleep but I was also slicked with a layer of cold sweat. I had no idea what that nightmare was about, if I had them at all it was usually about Charlie. I realised I needed to see Sheppard. I threw back the bed covers and stumbled from my room, without even bothering to put my robe on.

The city was still and the lights were dimmed. I got to Sheppard's quarters without seeing anyone but when I raised my hand to the door chime, I stopped. It was the middle of the night and I knew that I tended to look terrible after a nightmare. I had no doubt that my eyes would be red, my hair would be messed and my skin would be pale. I still needed to see him though. I remembered how McKay told Ford to override the door command and feeling guilty for it, I quickly swapped the crystals around and bridged them.

The door slid open and I stepped inside. The room was dark except for a very faint amount of light coming in from the stars outside. I could see Sheppard's bed and the silhouette of him sleeping on his side, his back was facing me. I carefully walked around his bed and looked at his face. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully enough. I crouched down to get a better look at him.

'You know-'

I let out a quiet shriek and fell backwards. He sat up in bed quickly.

'Jeeze, are you alright?' he asked

I stood up and brushed myself off, feeling embarrassed that he'd startled me so much and the fact that he'd caught me in his room. He looked up at me before leaning over to switch his bedside lamp on and then he looked at his clock.

'Marley, it's half three in the morning what're y-you don't look so good. Are you ill?'

I nodded quickly and he sighed.

'Look I can tell something's happened. You're eyes are all red, have you been crying?'

'No' My voice came out raspy, really raspy actually and I swallowed, knowing that had given me away 'I forgot to take my sedative and I had a nightmare'

John winced, he'd read my file in the end and he knew exactly what normally occurred.

'Marley-' He started

'No it was different, completely different. There was no Charlie, no blood, no gunfire. Nothing but a dark room...and you' I replied

He looked up at me before standing up. His eyes looked like they were scanning me carefully before he put his hand on my shoulder.

'You had a nightmare about me?' He asked

I nodded hesitantly and he sighed, he looked like he was going to say something but I spoke first.

'I'm sorry I disturbed you and broke into your room. I just...I needed to see you' I told him

He frowned 'Why?'

'Come on John, you're my closest friend here. I wanted to see that you were alright. I'm sure Heightmeyer would have some long psychological name for it but I just wanted to see you were okay' I told him

He suddenly gave me a stupid looking grin and I couldn't help the snort that came out at his face.

'What?' I asked

'Nothing' His face went serious again and he wrapped his arms around me for a hug 'Are you alright though?'

I squeezed him slightly and took a step back 'I am now. And again, I'm sorry I broke in and disturbed you'

I went to the doorway and was about to leave after putting the crystals right again when Sheppard called at me.

'Hey, don't be afraid of coming to see me whatever the hour. If you need a friend then you need a friend. We won't mention this to Weir either, she might pull you off the team and off-world activity'

I nodded

'We'll assume this is a one-off. If it happens again though we'll have to re-think' John told me seriously but gently all the same.

I nodded understandingly 'I'm sure you don't want to risk jeopardising your team'

He shook his head 'No, I don't want to risk all the hard work you've put in getting to this stage you're at now'

I felt touched at his sentiment and smiled. He gave me a nod and climbed back into bed. I took this as my cue to leave and I shut the door and went back to my room. I broke one of the sedative pills in half, knowing I wouldn't need the full dose now.

XxXxX

Sat in the meeting with Sheppard's team and Weir was an odd experience for me. I'd been to briefings on Earth but this was different. It was clear Weir was very laid back with this sort of thing; McKay was eating a sandwich and drinking coffee. It wasn't all that surprising to me; he was usually stuffing his face with something. Teyla was telling us about a civilisation she and her people had traded with for a very long time.

'They call themselves the Genii. They are simple people but they are good famers and fair traders' She summarised

'Well, we're still months away from producing successful crops on the mainland' She paused to glance at McKay as he took a particularly loud gulp from his coffee mug 'And we're heading towards a food shortage'

'I know, it's getting desperate' McKay was talking through a mouthful of food 'We're almost out of coffee'

I exchanged a glance with Ford, Sheppard simply leaned back and folded his arms 'Well maybe there'd be more if you stopped drinking eleven cups a day' he suggested

'hey, I'm just making sure I get my fair share before it's gone' McKay snapped back

Ford rolled his eyes 'That's fair'

I pulled a slight scowl 'You do realise caffeine is highly addictive? If we run out you'll go through a mild withdrawal'

McKay shrugged and I rolled my eyes and glanced at Sheppard who gave me an amused grin before turning to Weir.

'I'm all for trade but don't you think we should be finding a way to defend ourselves?' He asked

'Farmers can't do that' Ford supplied

'Well, they might be able to introduce us to someone who can. In the meantime let's take care of the basics' Weir replied

'And make sure we can at least feed ravenous appetites' I said with a slight smirk

McKay was fully engrossed in his food and didn't seem to hear my comment. Ford let out a small snort before containing himself. Teyla was grinning to herself and Weir was clearly disguising her own smile but her eyes still glittered.

'I suppose it's always good to get to know your neighbours' Sheppard agreed

Teyla gave him a nod 'The Genii Stargate is not far from their village. I suggest we walk, a Puddle Jumper might alarm them. Like I said, they are simple people'

Weir smiled 'Sounds like a mission'

Teyla got up to leave and looked at me 'Would you like me to help you prepare?'

I smiled gratefully and got up 'That would be nice'

She glanced back at McKay who smiled up at her obliviously. I followed her from the room and allowed myself a giggle. She chuckled lightly herself. She went back to my room with me and pulled apart my wardrobe finally selecting a pair of plain black canvas trousers I'd been issued with on arrival and a long sleeved black top, plain save for the Atlantis logo on the shoulder of the left arm and the American flag on the upper right, symbolising my nationality. I dressed quickly and reset my hair into the neat ponytail that was common for me now.

We stopped off at Teyla's quarters for her to change. It was odd, seeing her in Atlantis clothing. I was so used to seeing her in her traditional Athosian clothes. We got to the armoury and she quickly looked me up and down before selecting a tack vest for me. Once I was strapped up in that she picked up a gun holster and showed me how to put it on. It was different to the ones worn on Earth. It had a strap that looped around one leg, securing the gun so it didn't bounce around.

She selected a pistol and held it out to me. I took it without hesitation and put it into its holster. I signed it out on the log book and watched as Teyla got herself ready. Before we went down to the gate room, she paused.

'You shouldn't need to use that weapon for the place we're going to but if we should get into a situation where weapons may be needed you are not expected to use it yet. We just want you to get used to being armed. Stay close to Sheppard, go where he goes, he will look out for you' Teyla said gently

I'd informed her, shortly before being posted onto Sheppard's team, about Charlie. She completely understood my aversion to weapons and admitted that she didn't like to use any kind of weapon on a human when there were so many Wraiths already killing.

'I understand that I may have to use it and even take a life with it. I've accepted that fact' I told her

She nodded and we went to the gate room. She informed Peter on the address while I went to join the rest of the team but Kavanagh was passing me on the stairs and he looked me up and down. I shuddered under his gaze and tried to ignore him but he stepped in front of me and blocked me.

'Well look at you little miss Dr McKay's favourite' He tormented

I felt my hackles rise at the tone in his voice 'Beat it Kavanagh' I snarled 'I'm in no mood for your hassle today'

'No need to be so touchy. I had no idea you'd look so good in military issue clothing'

I went to shove past him but Sheppard appeared at the side of us. He glared at the scientist and I had no doubt that from the intensity of his glare he'd heard the whole thing. I took a step back up and jumped when I bumped into Teyla. She took my arm and steadied me but she too was giving Kavanagh one of her death glares.

'Is there a problem here?' Sheppard asked nastily

'None at all' Kavanagh snapped

He threw me one last look before leaving. Sheppard turned and went back down the stairs but Teyla linked her arm with mine and walked me down.

'What was that about?' Ford asked as we approached

'Nothing, he's just a silly little man who likes to make issues with me' I replied

As soon as I said it, the look on Sheppard's face made me wish I hadn't said anything.

'He's been harassing her!' Sheppard rounded on McKay 'You didn't think to nip that behaviour in the bud?'

'Hey have you heard her tongue lashings? She can defend herself without my help! What Kavanagh does behind my back I can't stop' McKay replied defensively

'Oh just forget it!' I said loudly

Sheppard gave me a hard look but then he looked up to Weir to wave that we were ready. She gave a nod to Peter and then turned back to us. The gate whooshed into life and we all stepped through. I resisted the hesitation I felt as I stepped through.

We came out on the other side. It was a brightly sunny day on this planet which was odd seeing as when we'd just left Atlantis it was quite gloomy. I looked around myself, the world we'd come to had long grass, plenty of trees and vegetation. Wild flowers threaded the grass and I couldn't resist the smile that cracked my face.

'It's beautiful isn't it?' Teyla asked, nudging me in a friendly way

'Oh yeah, I could get used to coming here' I replied

'Alright, where to, Teyla?' Sheppard asked

'We should allow them to come to us' Teyla replied

'Well, if you know where the village is, shouldn't we-' Mckay started to ask

'They trust me yes, but that trust was hard earned' Teyla replied

'Okay' Sheppard replied easily

We set off walking at a steady pace. Ford plucked a long strand of grass at some point and tickled my ear with it for awhile until I figured out what he was doing. I plucked my own and threw it at him.

'Alright children, calm down' McKay told us eventually 'What is it you said they grow here?' He asked Teyla

'Many things, but they are best known for a bean named Tava' She replied

'Java?' McKay asked

'Tava' Sheppard replied, putting sarcastic emphasis on the word

'How will they know we're here anyway?' Ford asked

Just as he was asking the question, up ahead I noticed a man and a woman come into view. They were dressed in what I'd call medieval peasant clothing but it didn't look bad. I looked at Teyla who'd noticed them too.

'They already know' Teyla replied

As they got closer we stopped and let them approach. The man was older than the woman, probably in his mid forties, he was tall and well built with dark hair. The woman looked to be younger than Ford, only in her early twenties. She was medium height, probably about the same height as Teyla with a slim but curvy build. Her hair was a pretty strawberry blonde colour and very curly.

'They look friendly enough' I heard Sheppard mutter

'The man is called Tyrus. I have traded with him on many occasions' Teyla replied

They walked until they were stood close. They scanned us all until both their eyes fell on me. They looked stunned and for a second I wondered why until I remembered my less than natural red hair. It would be glowing a dark red in this sun and to people who didn't know about hair dye it would've looked very odd. Sheppard noticed the stares and stood closer to me.

The man finally tore his gaze from me to Teyla 'Teyla Emmagan' He greeted

'Tyrus, it has been many days' Teyla greeted back

'Too many' Tyrus replied

'Teyla' The woman greeted

Teyla gave her a nod before turning to us 'This is Major Sheppard, Dr McKay, Lieutenant Ford and Dr O'Neill' Teyla indicated to us individually

The two people's eyes lingered on me again and I flipped my ponytail from over my shoulder self consciously.

'My daughter, Sora' Tyrus introduced

'You must be very proud' Sheppard replied

The woman, Sora, smiled bashfully and I felt a pang of envy. I looked up at Sheppard who had a friendly enough smile on his face and he wasn't even looking at Sora herself. I realised he was just trying to get on good terms with her father. It didn't work though.

'She betrothed' Tyrus replied sternly

Sheppard's smile dropped 'I wasn't hitting on your daughter, I was just-'

Teyla quickly cut across him 'They have come to trade for a share of your crops'

Sora had quickly gotten over the initial complement and defensively replied 'Yet you bring weapons'

'Only to defend ourselves' Ford replied

'We don't expect to need to use them' I said gently 'But you can never be too careful'

Tyrus looked at me appraisingly before accepting my answer. He seemed determined to pick on us though as he turned to Teyla.

'You dress as they do of your own accord?' He asked

'Of course. Why?'

It seemed to stump Tyrus as to openly criticize us. We all knew what he was getting at though and as Teyla looked at Tyrus curiously, Sheppard leaned towards her.

'They want to know if you work with us or for us' He told her

A look of realisation passed Teyla's features 'Ah. These are my friends, Tyrus. I would not have brought them here if I did not consider them worthy to be yours'

Tyrus nodded hesitantly before he looked to Sora 'We'll take you to see Cowen'

Sora gave us a smile 'Follow me'

I went to follow Teyla as she walked next to Sora but Sheppard caught my arm gently.

'Stick with me' He replied

McKay also walked beside us, he waited until Tyrus was out of earshot and whispered 'Maybe we should offer a sense of humour in trade'

Sheppard looked at him for a second 'Maybe they could have yours'

'Oh, please, my side. You slay me' He replied sarcastically

I shook my head and Sheppard rolled his eyes 'I guess not'

Once we got to the main village we were ushered straight into a small wooden house. We were taken to a room with a table but there weren't enough seats for us all. One seat was taken by a man I wasn't too keen on the look of. He stared at me oddly, there was something is his expression I didn't like at all. I stood back from the table with Ford but Sheppard, McKay and Teyla sat down. Sora and Tyrus, who'd caught up with us on the boarder of the village, also stood.

Sheppard explained what we needed clearly and efficiently and also explained what we had to offer in return. Cowen, didn't look so pleased as he examined the pot we'd brought to show them.

'You say these medicines are potent?' Cowen asked

'They can stop a bacterial infection entirely' McKay told him

'It would help us through a harsh winter' Sora said

Cowen put the pot down and pushed it back towards McKay 'We will need more than you offer'

'More?' Sheppard asked incredulously

'Do you realise how good this medicine is?' Ford asked

Cowen glanced at him but his eyes lingered on me again. I looked away uncomfortably until Cowen decided to answer.

'Leave, if you wish'

I looked up at his brash words but his eyes were still on me. Sheppard looked from him to Teyla, he looked even more stunned now.

'Leave?' he turned to Teyla 'I thought you said the Genii were fair traders?'

Teyla looked to Cowen who had finally looked away from me. She smiled sweetly.

'We have always managed to achieve a reasonable bargain' She said

The sweet smile worked and Cowen softened slightly 'You ask for much of our harvest. New crops will have to be planted in sufficient quantities to replenish our stores or it is the Genii who will starve. That amount of planting will require new land to be cleared. Clearing more land is slow, hard work and it will lose us a great amount of growing time between now and the next harvest season'

I couldn't help but feel his words were fair, Ford and I exchanged a glance and I could tell from his expression that he agreed. Sheppard gave one nod and looked up at Cowen again.

'Okay. What if clearing land was fast and easy?' He asked

Cowen and Tyrus looked at one another and chuckled. The belittling action immediately made me tense again.

'You know a way of uprooting a three hundred year old tree?' Cowen asked disbelievingly

Sheppard gave a smirk 'As a matter of fact I do'

Cowen raised his eyebrows; there was no disputing the confidence in Sheppard's voice. Cowen had no choice to believe him. He gave Sheppard and Ford permission to uproot a problem tree. As we moved outside Ford walked alongside me.

'Keep close to Sheppard' He said quietly

'Teyla's told me to. Don't worry, I have no intention of straying' I replied

'I just don't like the way Cowen was looking at you'

I stopped walking and Ford stopped to look back at me, his expression was serious.

'You noticed?' I asked

'Yeah and I'm surprised Sheppard didn't either' Ford replied

I raised an eyebrow 'Don't you think he had bigger problems?'

Ford just frowned 'Just stick close to him and be careful Marley'

I nodded and walked to stand with Sheppard as Ford set up the explosives around the tree. He elbowed me gently.

'You alright?'

I nodded and gave him a smile 'Yeah, I've never seen a C4 explosion before'

'You'll feel it, in your chest, especially from here. We're a bit closer than I would've liked but they need to see it' Sheppard replied

I nodded as he looked around him. Ford came back from setting the explosives up 'Alright, cover your ears' He told everyone

'I don't understand' Cowen said

'It's going to be loud' I replied shortly, doing as Sheppard was saying.

Sheppard raised an eyebrow but didn't comment 'You'll wish you had' He told him before turning to Ford 'Lieutenant?'

Ford started grinning like a lunatic and pulled the aerial from the detonator with his teeth 'Fire in the hole!' He shouted before pressing the button.

The effect was immediate. Even with my fingers stuffed in my ears the loud noise still made them ring. The stump had no chance; it exploded into pieces and sprayed everywhere. Sheppard was right about feeling the shockwave, it made me stumble back a pace from the force of it. He grabbed my arm with a laugh and ruffled my hair.

'Get off' I chuckled, trying to smooth my hair flat

I looked around to see Cowen inspecting the area where the tree stump used to be. The look of shock and amazement on his face was enough to know he was defiantly thinking. Villagers that were stood watching had varying degrees of shock, awe and amazement on their faces. None of them had never seen anything like this.

'It's called C4' Ford supplied

Cowen looked up at Sheppard 'If you can supply us with sufficient quantities of C4, we will supply you with the crop you require'

'So, this instead of the medicine?' Sheppard asked

'As well as the medicine' Cowen replied firmly

Sheppard's face dropped substantially 'Really? That wasn't impressive enough?'

'It is you who are in need' Cowen pointed out

Sheppard grimaced 'Okay, I'll have to discuss this with my people first though'

'I'm sure we can come to terms' Cowen turned to Teyla 'Teyla, thank you for bringing us these new trading partners. Please, stay as our guests. There will be a harvest ceremony later'

He turned and walked back to the village but some of the villagers moved forwards cautiously to inspect the damage for themselves. Teyla grimaced at Cowen's back.

'Wonderful!' She replied, her voice was laced with fake excitement

'Ford?' Sheppard asked

'Yes sir?'

'We're talking harvest ceremony' Sheppard said pointedly

'Sounds like fun, sir' Ford replied

I went to Teyla and elbowed her gently 'What was with the fake happiness?'

'They have made me endure so many of these and they aren't much for them to boast of. Go back with Major Sheppard, I'm sure the rest of us can handle it' She suggested

'Come on then' Sheppard said

I nodded and went to follow him but not before I heard McKay tell Teyla and Ford that he'd come back with us too. As we walked back to the gate I looked up at Sheppard.

'Weir's gonna be pissed' I told him

'I know' He replied with a grimace

'I'm sure she wouldn't want you to be offering weapons'

'I know that but he was twisting my arm' Sheppard snapped

I shut up, not wanting a confrontation with him seeing as we'd been getting on so well recently. McKay was looking at his hand held scanner, a confused look on his face which I chose to ignore. The walk back to the Stargate was very silent.

XxXxX

_I'm very sorry for the long wait people! I hope this is enough and I really will try to update more but I have two other fics to worry about too...they take up so much time lol. _

_Anyway, I'm sure you all know I'm going to ask for a review! _


	19. AN

_AN- I'm very sorry to everyone who has been following this story but for the time being I'm going to put it on Haitus. _

_I very much love Marley so don't worry, I won't abandon her forever, I just need to get some thoughts sorted out for her. I've hit complete writer's block with her and I'm not exactly sure on where to go or what to do. Any suggestions would be helpful!_

_Thanks for reading and reviewing so far and I'm really sorry but sometimes it has to be done. Far better to wait awhile for a good story than get a crap rushed one! _


	20. Chapter 18 Underground Part 2

_Yes, this story is officially back on track! I'm sorry it took so long! I was suffering with quite major writers block and I'd written this chapter before and then my computer crashed before I saved it and it got lost. I must admit I lost heart then and chose to take a break from this story. _

_Aaaanyway, I'm back with it and ready to keep going. I'm really sorry for those that have been waiting for activity on it and if you're still reading thank you so much and also thanks to people that have put it on alert in the meantime. _

_So read on!_

XxXxX

I waited in the control room while McKay and Sheppard briefed Weir. Grodin was keeping me company while I waited. I hadn't had chance to speak to him in ages so I took the opportunity while I could. I'd relayed everything that had happened so far but left out the freaky feelings I got from Cowen.

'He's a hard one to barter with then?' Grodin asked

'Yes, and I'm not sure why. The medical supplies I thought would be enough for a small civilisation to be excited over' I frowned

'Maybe because they're a small civilisation they want more' Grodin suggested

'Possibly but it seems greedy to ask for more outright like this. It makes me wonder if he has ulterior motives, it's not a stretch to consider that they just want more advanced weapons than arrows and spears' I replied

Grodin nodded thoughtfully 'A different thought for you though; Weir has been making noises about exploring the deeper parts of the city which have yet to be looked at'

I gave him a playful glance 'The basement? Ten bucks you go first'

He laughed 'I realise it's spooky here but that's at night'

'Yes but the power isn't on properly down there. It's still going to be torches and those lights in those weird water columns' I told him

'True, but I'm part of staff up here. I don't explore, I just man the sensors' He replied

I stuck my tongue out at him and Weir, Sheppard and McKay came back. From her deep frown I knew she hadn't been happy. I shot her a small smile when her eyes fell on me and she managed a smile back.

'Alright kids, off we go' Sheppard said

'We should eat together, when you get back' Grodin called

'Yeah that sounds good' I smiled, looking over my shoulder.

XxXxX

Back on the planet, I pulled out my scanner for the first time and was concentrating on that. I fell into step alongside Sheppard. He had a very slight frown on his face. I didn't want to ask what Weir had said to him but then I began to notice we were going off course from the instructions the Genii had given us. It seemed McKay had noticed too.

'You have no idea which way to go do you?' He accused

'Just trying to get my bearings' Sheppard replied, but his tone sounded uncertain.

'Translation: I'm lost. They were very clear which route to take' McKay shot back

'Why don't we double back' I suggested

'I prefer a straight line' Sheppard said

I could feel a bicker coming on so I just went back to my scanner. I was more interested in the fluctuating line which I was confused over, it should've been dead straight.

'Yes, of course, 'cause everything's a short cut in Sheppard's world' McKay replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm

'Did you know; nearly eighty percent of shortcuts get people lost-hold up!' I started saying absently before I stopped abruptly, making McKay crash into me. Sheppard whirled around, pointing his gun about wildly and making me tense for the first time in ages over a gun.

'Quit it' I told him.

Sheppard lowered his gun immediately, realising what I meant.

'What was all that about?' McKay asked, clearly trying to keep calm when he was in actual fact infuriated.

'It's coming from over there' I said, pointing towards the barn.

His eyebrows furrowed as he analysed the signal but I knew he was looking at it too long. I knew what it was the moment I saw it, he clearly didn't want to alarm Sheppard. He finally spoke up though.

'Yeah, I saw that on the way to the Stargate' He said 'It's really strange'

Sheppard glanced at the barn before looking back at me. I noticed that he bit his lip in a really adorable way when he did that.

'So?' He finally asked

'It's a very strange reading Sheppard' McKay told him

'Define strange'

'You don't know what strange means?'

'I know what strange means Rodney' Sheppard shot back impatiently

'Weird, freakish and just downright odd' McKay replied

'I'm just trying to determine if it's worth getting off track back to the village' Sheppard replied.

'Look, that particular signal indicates radioactivity' I told him

Sheppard's head flicked to me and he connected eyes with me. I was briefly distracted by the green hue the sunlight gave his hazel coloured eyes. I jumped as McKay spoke, what the hell was wrong with me?

'On an Amish world, look it's your call. We're lost anyway, what difference does it make?' McKay said

'I am not lost!' Sheppard said loudly but he bit his lip 'Alright lets go'

We walked to the barn and let Sheppard determine if it was safe before we went inside. The barn was a very simple structure and it had stalls inside that made me think it was for cattle or livestock. McKay had returned my scanner and pulled out his own.

Both of us were walking around, looking to see if we could determine the exact place it was coming from. As I walked, looking at the scanner I didn't notice the pile of hay I was going towards.

As I walked through it, my boot clanged against something metallic and snagged. I stumbled clumsily with a small 'eep' and probably would've fallen flat on my face if it wasn't for the fact I fell straight into Sheppard. He steadied me and then helped McKay shift the pile of hay off to reveal a large metal hatch. I looked at it in complete confusion.

'Wow. Now that is definitely strange' I said, mostly to myself

'Yeah and not that Amish really' McKay said, glancing up at me.

'No, not so much' Sheppard replied

'Maybe they don't know it's here' McKay supposed

'No, it's been oiled' I said 'Not to mention all this straw looks pretty fresh'

Sheppard moved to crouch next to me and touched the hinges for himself 'Recently oiled too' he decided

He stood up and looked at hard. I could practically see the cogs turning in his head.

'We have to check it out' Sheppard said determinedly

'Really?' McKay asked but recoiled when we both shot him looks 'Of course we do' He said dully

Sheppard pulled the hatch open with McKay's help and all three of us looked down the hole in the ground. There was a ladder that descended down far enough for us to not be able to see the bottom in the dark. I noticed a pebble and dropped it down the hole. It only just went out of sight before it hit the bottom.

'That's at least ten feet down' I said thoughtfully

'Alright, I'll go first, then Marley and then you' Sheppard offered and made movements to go down but McKay stopped him.

'Why does she get to go before me' He wined

'You can go first if you'd like' He snapped

'No no...that's alright' He said

Sheppard rolled his eyes at me before lowering himself onto the ladder and descending. Once he got to the bottom he looked up at me and indicated to me to follow. I grimaced at the awkwardness of him at the bottom of the ladder.

'Don't you dare look up' I warned

Sheppard gave a smirk 'Wouldn't dream of it'

'Perve!' I replied

'What?' Sheppard asked but he lowered his gaze and looked away.

'Would you stop flirting with each other and focus on the situation here?' McKay snapped

I blushed and climbed into the hatch, descending the ladder as quickly as I could, noting the fact that this was quite advanced construction. I got my scanner out once I was down at and my eyes widened as the reading went up. This radiation was nuclear and I suddenly got concerned at the amount we were probably absorbing. Being around the lab equipment, I was already absorbing more a year than I was supposed to.

Sheppard had put the torch on his P-90 on and he was inspecting the walls, ceiling and floor. As McKay descended, I scanned around and determined where the reading was strongest, indicating where it was actually coming from.

'This structure's architecturally advanced. The Genii couldn't have built it' McKay said

I on the other hand was starting to wonder if the Genii were actually who they said they were seeing as the type of radiation being transmitted was the signature typical of an Atomic Bomb. Maybe I was being overly suspicious because of Cowen. I handed the scanner to McKay and decided not to voice my suspicions, it was very farfetched to think that they were masquerading a simple life.

'I'm gonna tell Ford where we are' He reached for his radio and tapped it a few times 'Lieutenant, come in' after a pause he tried again 'Ford?'

McKay was looking around 'This place is built like a bunker, it's likely the walls are too thick for radio frequency'

'The reading's stronger this way' I said pointing

'What kind of reading?' Sheppard asked

'Palm reading' McKay snapped

'McKay!'

'It's neutron radiation' I said, cutting off whatever response McKay had.

'Okay, let's check it out' Sheppard said

I paused, not really wanting to continue 'John, your team always gets into trouble. I suspect at this point when you didn't turn back and get the hell out. Not mention the radiation reading doubled when we came in here and you want to go towards it?'

'I agree with her, I really think that we should get out of here' McKay said

Sheppard shook his head, turned on his heel and continued down the corridor. McKay and I exchanged glances before following him. He came to a door and shone his torch on it before pulling it open.

It pushed outwards into a large cavern. There was a water fall going straight down the middle and there were balconies with equipment that looked way too advanced for a simple civilisation. I hung back slightly, watching before hearing footsteps down the corridor behind us, I started to back away realising we were caught. Men in military uniforms came out and pointed rifles at us. I backed away hastily.

'Now this is strange' I heard Sheppard say before I collided with him, back to back.

'Marley what the-' He started before cutting himself off.

He must've turned and seen because he hooked an arm around me and drew me aside so he could stand in front of me, the protective gesture touched me. Straight away the guns were taken from us.

'Intruders, come this way' One of them gestured to us.

We glanced at each other before following and we walked along a long corridor with our hands behind our heads. We were led into a small room with a table in the middle and a few chairs around it.

'You two, sit' One of the men ordered Sheppard and McKay

I felt a pang of nerves but Sheppard shook his head 'Nuh uh, what are you going to do?'

I looked around nervously at the men in the room, suddenly and unpleasantly aware I was the only female.

'We are going to search you' The same man replied

Sheppard looked down at me and I gave him a short nod. We were in a dangerous situation and we would have to comply with their wishes. He hesitated.

'You so much as look at her or touch her in the wrong way and you'll know about it. I don't care who's in charge here' Sheppard threatened before sitting down next to McKay.

'Take your equipment off' One of the older soldiers ordered.

I unzipped my tack vest and dropped it on the floor next to me. One of the soldiers stepped forward, he was tall and broad and I skittered away from him in fear. He simply picked up the tack vest and emptied the pockets, before putting everything on the table in the room.

'We will search you now'

Sheppard shifted in his chair but he was pinned back by one of the soldiers.

'Do not fight, we have no intentions other than to search her' The older soldier spat

I raised my arms like when they search you at airport security and the guy patted down my arms and legs, lifting the hem of both my trouser legs slightly. I wondered why he was doing that until it occurred to me he was looking for a concealed knife.

'You should know I'm anti-weapons and I ain't packin' I told him

He stood up 'Packing what?'

I raised my eyebrows slightly 'Never mind'

Sheppard and McKay went through the search and then we were led from the room into a separate cell. The doors were shut and locked behind us and then we were left alone wondering what to do.

'There has to be some way out of here' Sheppard started

'Forget it' McKay shot back 'This cell is concrete and metal. We aren't getting out'

'Well, so much for a simple trading mission' I said sarcastically, despite the rising fear 'Two years I spent going off world with Daniel, two years and never once did anything like this happen! The first stupid mission with you guys-'

'Hey, it's not like we did it on purpose!' Sheppard said defensively

'I agree with her, I said we should've left' McKay cut in

'Regardless! Why do you guys get into these situations?' I started to pace frantically

Sheppard walked towards me and grabbed my shoulders 'Hey! Look at me' I obeyed reluctantly 'Teyla and Ford will realise we've been too long and check in with Atlantis. Once they find out we were there and left they'll come looking for us. The scientists will find the same readings you and McKay did and they'll investigate'

I was silent, processing everything in my head. Sheppard and his team seemed to get very lucky with bad situations and I had no other choice than to hope that this luck extended to me. I set my face into an indifferent mask.

'It seems I have no other choice than to trust your word' I told him

Sheppard didn't reply but I saw McKay shift uncomfortably in the corner, his sharp eyes watching everything going on. I retreated to a side of the cell and sat down, leaning on the wall. We seemed to be sat like that for ages before the guards came to the cell.

All the guards came back and one unlocked the door 'Come with us'

I rolled my eyes and was about to go to the doorway but Sheppard held me back and again, Sheppard and McKay made me walk between them and two guards brought up the rear with three in front. We were taken back into the room where we'd been stripped of our gear which was still laid on the table. It looked like it had been clumsily piled there but it was clear it had been rummaged through quite extensively. The weapons had also been removed.

We sat back in the three chairs but we weren't left alone this time. Guards were around in the room and two of them had rifles pointed at us. By now I was getting quite bored apart from the tension I was feeling from having guns pointed at us and from the looks of it so were Sheppard and McKay.

'Don't think about doing anything funny' A guard said 'Just sit at those chairs and wait'

I had to resist temptation not to reach out and pick up the energy scanner seeing as I was closest. I doubt the excuse of wanting to check the radiation levels would be enough. The whole time I instead took up with calculating the exact levels and what it meant. It gradually began to dawn on me that the energy reading was not dissimilar to an Atomic Bomb, what was worrying me was the amount of sheer power and radiation coming off wherever they were keeping the materials.

I heard Sheppard sigh loudly in boredom which got my attention.

'Maybe they exist as two separate cultures?' McKay asked in ponderment.

I gave a sigh 'Give it a rest, they're clearly not what we thought they were'

'Maybe, who cares?' He looked up at the guards 'How long are you boys planning on keeping us here?'

'You know, if you'd kept your secret underground hatch locked' He trailed off, obviously not wanting to accuse them of being careless.

The doors behind the guards opened and I looked up curiously. My heart dropped when Cowen stepped into the light.

'So much for two separate cultures' Sheppard said

He walked into the room and the door was shut behind him. Sheppard, McKay and I glanced at one another nervously. He adjusted his belt and looked at us as if we were naughty children.

'Now, what am I going to do?'

He walked around us, pausing behind me. I held my posture and didn't shift, not even when he ran his hand down my ponytail.

'Such an exquisite colour' He said quietly

He moved on and I sat furiously, feeling the need to scratch the back of my neck or touch my hair but resisting. Sheppard watched him though, his eyes stalking him dangerously. Cowen began to inspect our gear, picking various objects up before tossing them back onto the table carelessly but I took note of the confused expression. Despite the now apparent advanced culture of the Genii, it was clear he had no idea what he was looking at. He picked up the hand held scanner, inspecting it curiously.

'Oh erm, can you be careful with that? It's just that it's rather fragile and-'

Cowen practically dropped it onto the table, smirking at McKay as he did. McKay could barely hide his irritation and I could barely hold my tongue. I decided it was best though, to keep my mouth closed. Cowen circled us again, I tensed as he walked past me but he didn't touch me again. I was fuming; he was clearly messing with me. He, instead, sat at the table.

'We have a problem' He told us

'Then we have something in common' Sheppard replied shortly

'Normally you would already have been shot for discovering our secret'

I blanched, feeling myself go pale. Sheppard paused and McKay looked at him expectantly. Sheppard shifted and under the table he gripped my hand. I hung on back, needing the reassurance.

'In which case our people would've come back questioning our disappearance' Sheppard replied confidently.

'We would simply tell them the Wraith took you. With no evidence to the contrary-'

'Then they would investigate the energy readings we picked up' I said quietly

I kept my eyes firmly on the table top in front of me. I didn't look up, I wasn't even sure if they'd heard me for a second. That was, until Sheppard squeezed my hand harder for a second before loosening his grip. It was a subtle hint to tell me to be quiet.

Cowen cleared his throat 'You have technology and knowledge new to us. This C4 of yours-'

'Not for blowing up tree stumps' Sheppard finished for him

'We have a more sophisticated application for it' Cowen supplied

I dared look up now. He wasn't looking at me, he was looking at Sheppard who was clearly deep in thought. I looked around at McKay who glanced at me before turning his attention back to Cowen.

'Look, what you people do with your C4 isn't our concern. We just need food, As far as all this goes...' He trailed off, looking at McKay.

'We say; what giant underground bunker?' He finished

Cowen let his eyes settle on me and I raised my eyebrow 'I'm willing to keep my mouth shut if you hold your end of the bargain'

Cowen raised both his eyebrows in return 'You are an unusual woman...'

'Dr O'Neill' I replied

'You speak with defiance despite your situation'

'I'm not one to lie down and take crap' I replied dangerously

Sheppard had had enough now however 'Stop it' He told me warningly

Cowen however looked more thoughtful. I didn't miss the calculating and greedy glint in his eye. I tried not to react. He had been leaning back in his chair but he leaned forward and clasped his hands together in front of him.

'I want more' He said.

I bit my lip; I had a feeling he was going to be asking more than we could give. At this rate he'd have us bled dry before he agreed to trade some food. I knew we didn't have much other choice but to comply though. He made a good argument but I did have a feeling that Weir would kick up a fuss over an entire team going missing, that is if he simply let Ford and Teyla go. My stomach clenched as I realised they could also be in danger with this.

'Well, maybe we can give you more' Sheppard tried

'You have weapons more powerful than C4?' Cowen asked, his voice slightly disbelieving.

'Are you kidding? We-'

I glared at him while Sheppard made a loud cough. Cowen watched the exchange suspiciously. Sheppard looked back at Cowen, trying to recover from McKay's intervention.

'We might' He simply said

'What if I wanted more than weapons?' Cowen asked

This confused me but before I had time to think of what this could imply, McKay decided to open his wide trap again.

'Um, did I mention I know almost everything about almost everything. And O'Neill here is a good scientist herself'

My mouth dropped open that he'd just included me in practically offering scientific services. I felt like kicking him really hard in the shin but I refrained. Sheppard turned his head to look at him in disbelief too. I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.

'But subtlety you clearly know nothing of' I said lowly

Cowen however ignored the fact that we were close to an argument with each other 'For Teyla Emmagan to have joined you, you must have something much more' He said.

'Look, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say we're looking for allies against the Wraith. How about you guys?' Sheppard asked

Cowen paused, looking at us thoughtfully. He stood up.

'We shall see' He simply said 'Tyrus, please respond'

'_Receiving_'

'Bring them' Cowen ordered

I could only assume that he meant Teyla and Ford. I felt my heart beat faster with the fear of them being dragged into this.

'Ford is a young man, you couldn't possibly-'

'I do not wish to harm them; I wish to bring them into negotiations' Cowen replied, interrupting me.

I swallowed nervously but Cowen had his attention on me 'This Lieutenant Ford, is he your husband, Dr O'Neill?'

'No!' Sheppard replied loudly

Cowen, McKay and I looked at him in surprise and Sheppard had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed. Cowen raised an eyebrow. I decided to save Sheppard from his embarrassment.

'If Lieutenant Ford was my husband, I would share his surname and we would both be wearing rings on this finger' I said indicating to my ring finger before continuing 'What Major Sheppard means to say is that Ford is a close friend of mine and I would protect anyone I felt highly of' I replied, not liking the fact that a weakness was being revealed.

Cowen however was looked between me and Sheppard, an unreadable expression on his face and I began to feel nervous. There was nothing that was between me and Sheppard but I knew there and then I would gladly give my life for him. I felt a slight tremble at that thought and Sheppard leaned as subtly as possible so that his arm brushed against mine. Cowen opened his mouth, possibly to comment on the blatant closeness Sheppard had just created between the two of us but the doors to the room opened again.

It was Sora and Tyrus, both wearing military uniforms and they were leading Teyla and Ford. It looked like they had both been stripped of their gear too. Ford was cautious but Teyla was looking around at the people, an utterly betrayed look on her face. She sat in a chair that had been placed beside me and I reached for her hand underneath the table. She gave me a look of gratitude.

'You missed a hell of a harvest ceremony, sir' Ford commented

'I can imagine' Sheppard replied before looking up at Teyla 'Oh, hey Teyla'

She was quick to reply 'Believe me, I am just as surprised as your are by all of this, Major'

'Teyla and her people know us only as the simple farmers we show to outsiders. The secrecy of who and what we are is the only defence we have against the Wraith. One day, all that will change' Cowen told us

McKay spoke up 'And you believe you can do that with an atomic bomb?'

Cowen's eyebrows raised as Sheppard and Ford looked around in surprise.

'Now it is you who surprise me' Cowen admitted

'To a trained mind, the radioactive readings make it obvious' I told him

'Not to mention your fascination with the C4' McKay supplied

'You're both only mentioning this now?!' Sheppard asked in disbelief

I shifted uncomfortably, realising I should've said something. McKay went defensive though.

'I only thought of it now!' He said before looking back up at Cowen 'I assume you're hoping the C4 will solve some sort of criticality problem?'

'Will it?' Cowen asked

'It might, it depends on your designs. There's a whole host of other considerations' McKay told him

'You know how to build an A Bomb?!' Sheppard asked

'Major, most of my high school chess team could design an A bomb' McKay replied

Sheppard turned to look at me 'What about you?'

I shrugged 'With a Chemistry Minor and an Astro-Physics Major it's not difficult to in theory'

'The hard part is having sufficient fissional materials of an appropriate grade' McKay supplied for me

'And I thought she was a linguist' Sheppard muttered

'We do have the materials needed' Cowen told us

'You do!?' Sheppard blurted

'The Genii were once a great confederation of planets. Millennia ago, the Wraith had driven us to the brink of total annihilation. Our forefathers sought the protection of bunkers such as these, originally created for wars long forgotten, and it was here that a small number of our people managed to survive undetected. Over the course of many, many years, generation after generation, we have made technological developments here in secret' Cowen revealed

'So the whole farmer thing is a front?' Sheppard asked

Teyla spoke up for the first time in ages. I realised she mustn't understand what we'd been talking about. I made a mental note to fill her in later.

'So the Wraith do not suspect?' She asked

'More than that, we have many mouths to feed below' Cowen told us 'I want to show you something, come with me'

'Oh, that thing that you carelessly threw down on the table. Can I bring it?' McKay asked

Cowen picked it up and tossed it over to him before picking mine up and handing it to me. I took it without a word but it was a less than subtle hint that he wanted me to pay attention too.

'Stay as you are' Cowen ordered the guards.

It was a move which surprised me. Cowen led us out of the room and into the the underground complex.

XxXxX

_So I hope this was long and detailed enough for you all to forgive me. Review and tell me what you think pleeaaaassseeeee! _


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